


Choices and Consequences

by Dahlia_Rose_83



Series: Choices [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (a few) good Slytherins, Book 6 AU, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Good Draco Malfoy, Half-Blood-Prince AU, Horcruxes, Jealous Ginny, M/M, Sirius Black Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-27 23:50:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 28
Words: 59,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12593316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahlia_Rose_83/pseuds/Dahlia_Rose_83
Summary: Harry and Draco return to Hogwarts for their sixth year and Draco has to face the consequences of his actions. Can their relationship survive when faced with new enemies and old prejudices and the threat of war looming ever closer?





	1. Friends, Allys, Enemies

**Author's Note:**

> I've never started a new multi-chapter-fic while I was still working on another one, but this idea was just stuck in my head for so long. But don't worry. I'll keep working on "to be brave" as well. I'll probably update that one more often than this.
> 
> I kept debating with myself for ages whether or not to write this sequel. "Choices and Changes" was my first ever Drarry-fic and I got so much positive response. I've never gotten so many comments on a story before. Or after, for that matter. So I felt that I could only lose should I decide to write a sequel. Because surely it won't compare to the first part.
> 
> On the other hand I had so many ideas. Scenes that just kept popping into my head, which I really wanted to write...
> 
> So in the end I decided to risk it and start this sequel. Sorry about the crappy title. Finding a title is always the hardest part about writing a story for me. I have no real plan for this fic yet, so I can't tell how long it's going to be and I probably won't be able to update quite as regularly as I usually do.
> 
> And now I'll stop rambling and get on with the story.

“Best get on the train right away. Try not to get into too much trouble this year. And if you do, I want a detailed report.” Sirius joked, earning himself a stern look from Molly Weasley.  
Harry grinned and hugged his godfather, before boarding the Hogwarts express. 

“We'll try to find you later.” Hermione promised, dragging Ron away to fulfil their prefect duties. Ginny had already stomped off without a word as soon as they had reached the platform. 

“Come on, let's find a compartment.” Draco urged.  
He and Harry had agreed that it would be better if he skipped his prefect duties this time. The two of them waved to the adults, before setting off down the aisle, passing rows of staring and whispering students. 

“Are they staring at you or me?” Harry wondered.  
Draco shrugged. “Both of us, I guess. People aren't used to seeing us together and not fighting. And there's also the fact that I'm a blood traitor now and you're the Chosen One.” 

The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes. There was a reason why neither of them had read the Daily Prophet over the summer. Hermione still did however and she had told them the gist of it.  
Apparently there had been quite some speculation about the fact that Draco had been disinherited by his father. Lucius hadn't commented on it, which only fuelled the rumours. 

And after spending a whole year trying to convince the public that Harry was a nut-case, the Prophet was now convinced that he was the only one capable of defeating Voldemort (as was stated in a prophecy) and had started calling him the Chosen One. It was all pretty ridiculous, but obviously there were still a lot of people who believed whatever those idiots at the Prophet wrote.

Harry finally steered them into a compartment that was empty save for two very familiar people. Neville Longbottom smiled upon seeing Harry, but when he spied Draco he gave a startled yelp and toppled out of his seat. Draco tried to turn his snicker into a cough, but he was pretty sure that Harry wasn't fooled. Luna Lovegood only looked up from her magazine with a dreamy smile. She was wearing psychedelic looking spectacles, which gave her the look of a demented owl.

“Don't worry, guys. Draco broke with his father and joined our side. We're friends now.”  
Harry assured them, dropping into a seat and pulling the blond down beside him. The Slytherin forced himself to greet the other two politely. He had promised Harry to give his friends a chance. No matter how weird they seemed. Hermione and Ron had turned out rather nice after all and he'd never thought too high of the Weasleys.

“That was a very sensible thing to do. Your father is part of the Fudge conspiracy, did you know? He's trying to help Fudge take over Gringotts. They did some rather mean things to those poor goblins.” Luna told him in a totally serious voice. 

Draco stared at her for a moment, taken aback by the sheer absurdity of the statement. But he couldn't help a grin from spreading across his lips.  
“Yeah, I've been suspecting something like that for a while now.” he claimed, earning himself another dreamy smile, before she went back to reading her magazine.

Draco glanced over at Harry, who just shrugged and grinned at him. Neville on the other hand looked slightly alarmed. Harry distracted him by asking about his summer.  
“It was nice. Gran was very proud of me for joining the DA.” the clumsy boy said shyly. 

“Are we still doing DA meetings this year, Harry?” Luna chimed in again.  
“No point now we've got rid of Umbridge, is there?” the dark-haired boy mused.  
“I liked the DA. I learned loads with you.” Neville interjected quietly, while Luna muttered that it had been like having friends.  
“We are friends.” Harry insisted and she beamed at him.

“Why don't you continue with the meetings?” Draco wondered. “Umbridge's stupid proclamations have been taken back. You could turn it into an official study group. Practice the things we learn in DADA. Now that aunt Andromeda won't return for tutoring, I'm sure people would appreciate it.” he suggested. Longbottom gaped at him, obviously surprised that he would encourage them. 

“You know, that might be an idea. I did have fun with the DA. I'll ask Dumbledore if it would be okay.” Harry decided, before starting a conversation about Quidditch. 

Neville was very quiet and kept sneaking nervous glances at Draco, as if expecting to get attacked any second. Luna however was completely focused on her magazine and mostly ignored the three boys.

All four of them were startled when a group of fourth year girls appeared at the door to their compartment. They were whispering and giggling among themselves, until a bold-looking girl with large dark eyes and long black hair stepped into their compartment, smiling at Harry. 

“Hi Harry. I'm Romilda, Romilda Vane.” she introduced herself. “Why don't you join us in our compartment? You don't have to sit with them.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste, looking at the other three.  
“They're friends of mine.” Harry practically growled and the girl made a hasty retreat.

“So that's Romilda Vane? There were rumours about you dating her last year.” Draco muttered thoughtfully.  
“You're kidding, right? I can't remember ever meeting her before.” the dark-haired boy grumbled.  
“I believe she spread those rumours herself. She's obviously suffering from a bad case of gibbling gibberees.” Luna said in her dreamy voice. 

Draco suspected that she might at least be right about the first part. Harry mumbled something about bloody stupid girls and started talking about Quidditch again. Longbottom relaxed slightly, although he still eyed Draco warily every now and then.

Soon they were interrupted again. This time a younger girl stumbled into their compartment and gaped at Harry, before stuttering that she was supposed to deliver something to him and Longbottom. She handed them scrolls of parchment, tied with violet ribbon and then gave a squeak and ran off when Harry thanked her with a smile. Draco shook his head. He was so glad to be gay. Girls were just too weird.

“It's an invitation from a professor Slughorn.” Harry's voice cut through his musings.  
“Horace Slughorn?” the blond asked warily.  
“Yes. Do you know him?” 

Draco nodded. “I've heard of him. He was head of Slytherin before Snape. I don't know much, but my father always thought very highly of him.”  
The dark-haired boy looked at the invitation with a frown. “I don't think I want to meet him. You should go without me, Neville.”  
“What? You can't make me go alone, Harry.” Longbottom pleaded. 

“Go. I'll be fine.” Draco urged, knowing that Harry's reluctance was partly because he was concerned for his safety. It was cute, really, but also a bit stifling. He could take care of himself and Harry knew that. They shared a long look and finally Harry nodded. He got up reluctantly and followed Neville.

Draco was left alone with Luna and unsure how to behave. She seemed nice enough, even if she was decidedly weird. “What are you reading?” he asked, trying to start a conversation. Maybe she had a few more of those ridiculous theories about his father. They might at least be good for a laugh. 

“The new edition of the Quibbler. My father is the editor.”  
Well, that certainly explained a lot.  
“Harry gave an interview for that magazine last year, right?”  
“Oh yes, it was very popular. People seemed even more interested than in the crumble horned snorkack.” 

Draco blinked at her. “The what?”  
Luna lowered her magazine. “The crumble horned snorkack. It's a very interesting species, you know?” 

And she proceeded to tell him all about it. He couldn't really follow her weird explanations, but she seemed quite happy to ramble on. And Draco couldn't help but picture his father's reaction, if he could see him sitting there right now. Knowing how furious Lucius would be with him for associating with someone like Luna made him pretend to listen attentively.

“A lot of people felt that daddy should publish more interviews, however. Like the one with Harry. Maybe you want to tell the truth about your father? I'm sure daddy would be happy to publish it.” she suddenly changed the topic. 

It was a very tempting offer. Draco could almost see the headline. >Death Eater's son speaks up at last – the ugly truth about Lucius Malfoy.< But he knew that he would never do it. He wasn't as brave as Harry. “I don't think interviews are really my thing.” he declined. Who would believe him anyway? His father had connections at the Ministry. And he was nobody.

A commotion at the door made him look up. The fourth year girls were back, giggling and craning their necks, obviously trying to catch a glimpse of Harry. When they noticed his absence they left again, looking petulant. Draco glared at their retreating forms.

“There is no need to be upset.” Luna's dreamy voice startled him. “Harry doesn't like those girls. He's clearly very smitten with you.” 

He looked at her in shock, wondering what might have given them away. He and Harry had agreed to keep their budding relationship secret for now. Not even Ron and Hermione knew. And there really wasn't all that much to know yet. 

“Don't worry. I can keep a secret.” Luna assured him and suddenly her smile was all too knowing. Draco realized that there was a lot more to this girl than met the eye. She was a bit batty, yes. And half the time she probably lived in a world of her own. But there was also a reason why she had been sorted into Ravenclaw. 

“Thanks.” he muttered quietly, returning her smile. Okay, maybe Harry's friends were really alright.  
The moment was broken when the door opened yet again. Ron trudged in, followed by Hermione. 

“Man, I'm starving. Where's the lunch trolley? And where's Harry?” the red-head asked and Draco shook his head with a smile. Ron would forget anything for food. 

“He and Longbottom got an invitation from the new teacher, Slughorn.”  
Both frowned at him, but after Draco had explained that he had no idea what that was about and Luna had added some weird theories of her own, Hermione changed the subject:  
“Parkinson isn't doing prefect duty. We saw her in a compartment with Nott, Crabbe and Goyle.”  
Draco wasn't really surprised. He had known that Nott would try to take his place. “What were they doing?” 

Ron answered the question with a rude hand gesture, that had Hermione tutting at him and the blond sniggering. Nott had never been overly creative. They talked some more and bought some food from the lunch trolley, when it finally showed up.

It was almost getting dark when Harry and Neville finally returned. But they weren't alone. Blaise Zabini was with them. “Potter told me I'd find you here. I was almost ready to believe the rumours that you weren't coming back this year.” he greeted Draco, taking a seat next to him. The compartment was getting a bit cramped, so Hermione pulled a protesting Ron outside to do another patrol.

“That's what people are saying?” the blond boy wondered.  
“People are saying a lot of things.” Blaise answered evasively.  
“You want to know the truth?” 

The dark-skinned boy nodded, so Draco told him about his father's plans to force him to join the Death Eaters and take the Dark Mark. He talked about asking his aunt for help and about spending the summer with Harry in a safe house of the Order. And he confirmed that his father had disinherited him for his disobedience.

“So you chose to oppose he-who-shall-not-be-named.” Zabini concluded.  
“I chose to help Harry fight him.” the blond stated, earning himself surprised looks from all three boys. 

They hadn't really talked about this before. He actually hadn't given it much thought either. But he knew that if it came down to it, he would rather fight alongside Harry, than sitting safely at Grimmauld Place, hoping for a good outcome. 

“I'm relieved to hear that.” Blaise's voice cut through his musings.  
“That means we're still friends?” Draco checked.  
“More so than ever. And you will need friends this year. There aren't many you can trust in Slytherin.” Zabini pointed out. 

The blond nodded. He had already known that.  
“I've got your back, Draco. You know that my family opposes Him. But you need to be very careful. Nott already took advantage of the rumours. He's got Crabbe and Goyle on his side, as well as Parkinson. And I think quite a lot more might be frightened enough to side with him.” Blaise warned.

“What's so scary about Nott?” Harry wondered aloud. He barely remembered the lanky, mousey-haired boy, who mostly faded into the background.  
Zabini gave him a calculating look. “He took Draco's place and joined the Death Eaters.” 

Shocked silence followed his words.  
“Are you sure?” Draco wanted to know.  
“I am. He brags about it. Apparently he-who-shall-not-be-named wanted a Hogwarts student for a job, for some reason. At least that's what Nott said. He also claimed that you were too much of a coward to do what was required. So he volunteered. He even showed me the Dark Mark on his arm.”

Neville gasped and toppled out of his seat again. Zabini gave him a disdainful look. Harry however exchanged a worried glance with Draco.  
“He's even more of an idiot than I always thought.” the blond muttered darkly.  
“We need to tell Dumbledore.” Harry decided. 

Zabini snorted. “Do what you must, but leave me out of it.” He got up and looked at Draco. “We'll be in Hogwarts soon. I'm going back to my compartment. Want to join me? It might be a good idea to get more people on your side.” 

Draco shook his head. “I'll stay with Harry. I'll see you in the Great Hall.”  
Blaise narrowed his eyes. He didn't seem pleased by this, but he said nothing and simply left. 

“Are you still sure you'll be okay in Slytherin? You share a dorm room with Nott, right?” Harry asked worriedly. 

“Yes. And with Blaise and Crabbe and Goyle. But don't worry. I don't think even Theo would be stupid enough to attack me at Hogwarts. And even if he tried, I know how to put wards around my bed. Besides, he'll probably be busy enough with whatever task Vol...demort has set him.”  
It cost Draco a lot to say the name aloud, but he was determined to rid himself of that fear. It was only a name after all. If Harry could say it, so could he.

He was rewarded with a proud smile from Harry and Neville yet again sliding off his seat with a yelp. That boy was way too easily scared. Ignoring him, Draco grabbed Harry's hand and looked him in the eyes. “Stop worrying. I'll be fine.”  
Harry forced himself to smile. “If you say so.” 

The stared at each other for a moment and the blond had to fight the urge to lean over and kiss him. Keeping this a secret was going to be harder than he'd thought.

Luckily Ron and Hermione chose that moment to return and tell them that they would arrive in about ten minutes. While shrugging into their Hogwarts robes, Harry and Draco filled them in about Nott. 

“He even showed it off? The Dark Mark?” Ron asked in a horrified whisper.  
“I guess he wouldn't show it to everyone. But if he thinks it might get him allies... And in Slytherin it just might.” Draco mused.

Hermione then asked Harry about the new professor. He told them that Slughorn was obviously trying to surround himself with famous students and that he had bragged about all the important people he knew. 

The Hogwarts express slowed down and finally came to a halt. Once again people were staring at Harry and Draco as they got off the train and headed for the carriages. Draco saw Nott up ahead, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, with Pansy hanging on his arm. Nott caught his eye and smirked. Draco put on his best haughty expression and turned to talk to Harry. Remus had advised him to show everyone clearly where his loyalties lay and he had every intention of following that advice.

He got into a carriage with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville, forcing himself to appear more calm and confident than he felt. Now that they were almost there he was getting nervous. But he simply smiled at Harry when they reached the Great Hall, finally parting ways. Draco headed for the Slytherin table, while Luna joined her fellow Ravenclaws and the others headed towards the Gryffindor side. And still people were openly staring and the whispers only got louder.

Harry was momentarily distracted by Seamus and Dean, who asked him about the stupid stuff the Daily Prophet had written about him this time. When he finally looked over at the Slytherin table, he found Draco sitting between Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode. The blond gave him a reassuring smile and Harry smiled back.

Then Dumbledore stood up to give his welcoming speech and all the attention turned to him.  
“What happened to his hand?” Hermione asked worriedly. 

Harry shuddered. Dumbledore's right hand was blackened and dead-looking. The old headmaster however shrugged it off without explanation and gave a variation of his usual speech. He told them about the list of banned items (now containing every product from Weasleys Wizard Wheezes), before urging the students to put old rivalries aside and work together, now that Voldemort was gaining strength once more. Harry found himself glancing at Draco again, sharing a secret grin with the blond. 

The announcement that Slughorn would teach Potions this year made him look back at Dumbledore with a frown.  
“But if he's teaching Potions...” Ron mumbled and a horrible thought dawned on Harry, which was quickly confirmed by Dumbledore. Snape had finally gotten his greatest wish and been appointed DADA teacher. 

“We've really got to continue the DA. Snape will never let me pass exams.” Neville nearly begged from his seat across from Harry.  
“I'll talk to Dumbledore.” the dark-haired boy promised absently.

Hermione and Ron gave him a surprised look, which reminded him that he hadn't told them about maybe continuing the DA. The arrival of the food distracted at least Ron for the moment and Harry mouthed “Later.” to Hermione, before digging in as well. Nothing against Kreacher's cooking, but Hogwarts food was still better.

After dinner Hermione dashed off to fulfil her prefect duty of shepherding the first years, while Harry and Ron hung back. They caught up with Draco just outside the Great Hall, once again causing people to stop and stare. 

“I've got to head down to the dungeons. I'm still a prefect and I won't give Snape any opportunity to change that.” the blond muttered, though he made no move to leave.  
“I should probably do the same.” Ron agreed without much conviction.  
“You'll be okay?” Harry checked, looking at Draco closely. 

The question earned him an eye-roll. “I'll be fine, Harry. I can look after myself. And aside from that, Millicent has appointed herself as my personal bodyguard. I have no idea what Blaise told her.” the Slytherin grumbled. 

Harry and Ron looked over at the girl, who was hovering close by. She was at least as tall as Draco, with broad shoulders and a rather well developed chest, that had Ron staring appreciatively. Harry felt reminded of the Valkyrie he had once seen in that awful opera aunt Petunia had watched on TV. 

“Well, she's scary enough.” he muttered.  
Draco snorted. “You're easily scared then. And I don't need a bodyguard. I've had enough of Crabbe and Goyle following me around. I don't need her to take their place. I can look after myself. And I really need to go now.” 

Harry nodded reluctantly, suppressing the urge to pull Draco in for a goodnight kiss. They shared a long look, before parting ways and heading for their respective common rooms. 

Harry went to bed soon after, but he kept tossing and turning, missing the feeling of Draco in his arms (despite the fact that they had actually only spent one night together so far). He finally fell into a fitful sleep long after midnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love. Please let me know what you think. Even if you hate it.


	2. The first day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment. Sorry that I made you wait for the second chapter, but like I said, don't expect regular updates on this work. I still only have a vague idea of where this is going. So please let me know what you think.

Draco didn't sleep any better that first night back at Hogwarts. Too many thoughts and fears were chasing themselves around in his head. When he tried to leave the dorm next morning, Nott was blocking his path. Once again the smaller boy was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, who kept their gazes down, like they couldn't even look at the blond. 

“The Dark Lord is very disappointed in you, Malfoy. Who would have thought you're such a coward?” Nott taunted.  
Draco just gave him a bored look. “Get out of my way, Nott.” 

“Why should I do that? In case you haven't noticed, you have no more power here. The mighty prince of Slytherin, nothing but a blood traitor. Your own father wants nothing more to do with you.”

The words stung, but Draco was determined not to show any weakness. Nott was all talk and no action. He knew that for a fact. And by the looks of it, Crabbe and Goyle would be reluctant to attack him.

“I don't care what my idiot of a father thinks. I made a choice. I chose the other side. And now get out of my way before I hex you.” he punctuated his words by pulling out his wand and pointing it at the other boy.

“I suggest you do as he says.” Blaise chimed in, coming up behind Draco.  
For a second Nott stared at them. Then he stepped aside and let them pass.  
“Your arrogance won't get you far, Malfoy. You're going down. Along with your precious Potter.” he called after the two boys.

The blond tensed slightly, but forced himself not to react. Nott couldn't know that he'd hit a nerve by threatening Harry. He was only trying to provoke him and Draco would be damned if he fell for it. He didn't turn around and instead headed to the Great Hall with Blaise, where Millicent had saved them seats.

Draco caught Harry's eyes across the Hall and they shared a smile. People were still staring openly at both of them. According to Millicent the fact that they had been seen together yesterday had only fuelled the rumours.

“You need to be careful around Nott.” Blaise cautioned.  
“I'm not afraid of him and I'm not going to hide behind you like some scared little kid.” Draco grumbled petulantly.

“I'm only saying you should take the threat he poses a little more seriously. Be careful and watch your back. We all know he won't attack you openly, but he might try to stage a little accident or something.” Zabini reasoned.  
“Don't worry, I'll be careful.” the blond promised. He wouldn't put it past Nott to plan something sneaky.

***

After breakfast the sixth years hung back and waited for their heads of houses to distribute the new timetables. Draco was immediately cleared to continue with DADA, Potions, Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration and Arithmancy. He cast another glance at Harry, who appeared to be in deep discussion with McGonagall, before heading for a first period of Arithmancy. Afterwards he and Millicent had double Herbology with the Ravenclaws, followed by a free period before break.

Then they had their first DADA lesson with Snape. Draco wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or annoyed at the fact that Snape still seemed to favour him. The Potions master was his godfather after all and even though he'd stopped acknowledging that fact once Draco had started at Hogwarts, he'd always been there for the blond when he'd needed it. On the other hand, Harry didn't trust Snape and Draco himself wasn't too sure which side the man was actually spying for now.

Non-verbal spells were not much of a challenge for Draco. He managed a silent shield charm after only a few minutes and earned Slytherin ten points. A few people even congratulated him, while Crabbe and Goyle merely stared and Nott pointedly looked the other way.

After lunch he headed to the library with Blaise to get started on his Arithmancy homework, before it was time for this afternoon's double Potions. Only a dozen people were progressing to NEWT level and he was surprised to find Harry and Ron among them. Slughorn's expectations obviously weren't as high as Snapes.

Before he had a chance to even greet the three Gryffindors, the dungeon doors opened and Slughorn ushered them inside, greeting Harry and Blaise with particular enthusiasm. The dungeon was, most unusually, already full of vapours and steams, thanks to three large, bubbling cauldrons.

The four Ravenclaws took a table together and Blaise automatically headed for the table that Nott and Pansy had already claimed as theirs. Draco shot him an apologetic look, before joining Harry, Ron and Hermione. This got him a few incredulous stares and a dark look from the lone Hufflepuff boy, who was now forced to join the other three Slytherins.

The blond focused his attention on Harry and Ron, who were both breathing deeply, with matching grins on their faces. The reason for that was the gold-coloured cauldron next to their table, which was emitting a strange mix of scents. 

It reminded Draco of the Quidditch pitch after a rainy morning, his favourite chocolate and something fresh he smelled whenever he came close to Harry. He looked at the sheen of the potion and the steam rising in spirals from the cauldron and felt his face heat. Amortentia. Looking over at Harry, he found the dark-haired boy gazing at him with a puzzled expression. Draco wondered what the potion smelled like for him.

Slughorn distracted him by asking the class about the different potions. The blond wasn't surprised when Hermione's hand shot in the air and she identified all three potions correctly. Harry blushed lightly when she explained about Amortentia and his eyes sought Draco's. But Slughorn distracted them again, by promising a bottle of Felix Felicis to the student who brewed the best Draught of Living Death.

Harry and Ron had to borrow books and supplies from the school cupboard this time, since they hadn't known they'd be allowed to continue Potions. Draco forced himself to pay them no mind and concentrate on his own work. It really was a difficult potion and he had quite some trouble with it, despite the fact that he'd always been good at Potions. This time he didn't do so well and he was totally surprised when it turned out that Harry of all people had brewed it perfectly. 

“How did you do that?” Ron wanted to know, but the dark-haired boy merely shrugged and mumbled something about getting lucky.

They parted ways outside the classroom, all students heading to their common rooms to drop off their stuff and maybe get started on some homework before dinner. Blaise wasn't too pleased that Draco had abandoned him for a bunch of Gryffindors, as he put it. 

“Stop being melodramatic. No-one forced you to sit with Parkinson and Nott.” the blond shot back, noting absently that Nott was nowhere to be seen.  
“You're spending an awful lot of time with them. First on the train and now..” Zabini trailed off. 

Draco shrugged. “I spent the whole summer with Harry. Surprisingly enough, I found that I enjoy his company, now that we've set our differences aside. And I though this year was all about being friendly with the other houses.”  
The other boy looked sceptical, but didn't comment further. 

They did some homework and then headed down for dinner. Afterwards Draco watched Blaise stalking after two Ravenclaw girls, muttering something about becoming friendly with other houses. He declined Millicent's offer to accompany her to the library and was just contemplating going back to the common room, when Harry appeared next to him. The younger boy steered him towards a bench, while Hermione and Ron offered a wave, before disappearing with some other Gryffindors.

“How was your first day?” Harry wanted to know.  
Once again people were stopping to stare at them. Draco glared at a group of Hufflepuff first years until they ran off.  
“It was okay.” he finally answered. 

Harry smiled at the dark looks he gave the gossiping students, but didn't scold him.  
“I hope they'll get used to seeing us together in a few days.”  
Draco snorted. “I wouldn't bet on it. And even if they do, they'll probably continue ogling us. The Chosen One and the outcast pure-blood.” 

Harry made a strange move, like he wanted to reach for his hand, but thought better of it. Instead he took out his wand and cast a spell Draco didn't quite catch.  
“Silencing spell. Sirius taught me that. At least they won't be able to listen in on us now.” he explained. 

“Does that mean you're about to tell me a secret?” the blond teased.  
Harry grinned. “Maybe. Well, it's at least not something I want everyone to know. I talked to Dumbledore this morning.”

“Did you tell him about Nott?” the blond asked, sobering immediately.  
“Yes, I did. But... it didn't do much good. He said he was well aware of Mr. Nott's choices and told me to leave the matter to him.” Harry muttered, looking petulant.  
“Did he say anything else?” Draco prodded, trying to ignore how cute the other boy looked when he was pouting. 

“Nothing about Nott. But he said he would give me private lessons this year. That was actually the reason he asked me to come to his office in the first place.”  
“Private lessons?” the older boy repeated sceptically  
“From what he said I think he's mostly going to tell me stuff about Voldemort. I guess he thinks it might help me … defeat him.” 

Draco had always considered it unfair that everyone expected Harry to defeat Voldemort and save the wizarding world. He was only sixteen after all. Just because he'd survived the killing curse as a baby... Wouldn't someone like Dumbledore be better qualified for the task? But no, the old headmaster seemed very intent on sending Harry off to fight this particular battle on his own. In Draco's opinion he was no better than Voldemort, who recruited kids like Nott for the dirty work. But he kept that thought to himself, knowing how much Harry looked up to Dumbledore.

“I also talked to him about continuing the DA.” Harry changed the subject. “At first he wasn't too thrilled at the idea. He thought it would put too much pressure on me.”  
Draco couldn't help but snort at that. “If anyone's putting pressure on you, it's him. He expects you to defeat... Vol...demort.” he reminded. 

The dark-haired boy shrugged. “Everyone expects me to defeat Voldemort.”  
When Draco tried to say something, he quickly went on: “But that's beside the point right now. We discussed the DA and he finally agreed to let us continue, as long as I have other people to help me. We'll turn it into a study group, like you suggested. The Defence Association. It'll be open to anyone above third year. And I won't really be the leader this time. At least not on my own. Instead there will be a group of leaders, with two people from different houses leading each meeting. That way I don't have to attend every meeting, which means I still have enough time for Quidditch and other things. And it should also help to show unity between the different houses.”

“Sounds good.” Draco commented.  
“I'm glad you think so, because I want you to team up with me as leaders.”  
It took a moment until the words sunk in. The blond looked incredulous. “Wait, you actually want me to help you lead those meetings?” 

When the younger boy said yes, he quickly shook his head. “No. No way. That's a bad idea, Harry.”  
Harry looked hurt. “I thought it was a great idea.” he muttered sullenly and Draco sighed.  
“No-one trusts me, Harry. No-one would listen to me. I'm not... I'm not like you.” he finished, shrugging helplessly. 

“That's not true. I trust you. Hermione and Ron too. And the others will come along. And even if they don't... It's their loss.” the dark-haired boy insisted. 

When Draco only shook his head again, he barged on: “I thought about this quite logically. Oh, don't give me that look. I can think, you know. And it's a brilliant idea. Dumbledore wanted people from different houses. You're a Slytherin. If you do this, other Slytherins might follow your example, instead of siding with Nott. This year is all about making friends in other houses after all. You're also really good in DADA and you probably know hexes I've never even heard of. You could teach us something new. And it's the perfect way to show everyone that you've changed. That we're on the same side now.”

Okay, put like that it sounded logical enough. Harry could most likely see his defences beginning to crack, because he went in for the kill: “We would be able to spend more time together. Planning the meetings and stuff. Just the two of us.” 

Draco sighed in defeat. Who was he kidding here? Harry had him wrapped around his little finger and he suspected the younger boy knew it. “Alright, I'll give it a try. But remember that this was all your idea, when it ends in mayhem.”  
Harry grinned. “It might. But I'm sure we'll manage.” 

Draco scooted closer to him without even meaning to. He just couldn't help it. Harry was like a magnet. Why were there still so many people around, watching them? How the hell was he supposed to keep his hands to himself, if the other boy continued to look at him like that?

“It smelled like you, you know.” Harry suddenly whispered. Draco raised his eyebrows in question and he blushed. “The potion. The love potion. It smelled like you.” he clarified. “Well... and like treacle tart and … broomsticks.” 

Draco chuckled. “To me it smelled like the Quidditch pitch after the rain and chocolate... And you.” he admitted quietly. 

The younger boy grinned. “Too bad that there are still people around. Cause I really want to kiss you right now.”

The blond felt his face heating as well and cursed his pale complexion. He wondered what all those onlookers must be thinking and had to mentally remind himself to be careful. No-one could know what was really going on between him and Harry. It was too dangerous. For both of them.

“I want to kiss you, too. But we can't. Not here. Not anywhere, with the way people are staring.” 

Harry's face fell slightly. “I know. We'll find a way.” he promised. Reluctantly they both got up. Harry grabbed his shoulder and for a second they were so close. “Goodnight Draco.”  
The blond smiled sadly and reached out to squeeze Harry's arm. He just had to touch him in some way. “Night Harry.”


	3. Don't mess with Draco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to everyone who left a comment. And sorry for the long wait. I only managed a very short update this time. I'll try for something longer in the next chapter.

Over the next two weeks Draco spent most of his time with Blaise and Millicent or Harry and his friends. The other Slytherins kept eyeing him strangely, like they didn't know what to make of him now. Draco had really been something like the prince of Slytherin house for the past couple of years, mostly because of his family's standing. Now that he'd been disinherited the other students were obviously unsure where that left him. 

Nott tried to take over his place, but according to Blaise he lacked the necessary charisma. People had always tended to overlook him and it seemed like not even the Dark Mark could change that.

Strangely enough he hadn't really tried anything against Draco yet. Aside from a few snide comments whenever they crossed path, he simply kept ignoring him now, which put the blond on alert. He waited for some sort of attack. He'd already placed protective wards around his bed and on his trunk on the first night and he kept checking them regularly.

Crabbe and Goyle still couldn't look him in the eyes, but had started staring at him when they thought he didn't notice. Pansy Parkinson on the other hand tried to harass Draco whenever she could, but so far all her attempts had failed miserably. 

Draco had caught her slipping something into his pumpkin juice at breakfast the first day and had therefore started switching his glass with Crabbe's or Goyle's when they weren't looking. So far Crabbe had started puking twice and once fainted on the spot, while Goyle had gotten a nosebleed and fainted a few times. Harry confirmed that Pansy was obviously using one of the Weasley twins skiving snack boxes. 

She had also tried to use a tripping hex and some other minor jinxes on Draco a couple of times, but he was very good at shield charms. And when she tried to do it behind his back, he could usually count on Blaise or Millicent to block the hex for him.

Still, it was getting tiresome and Harry was getting worried, so the blond decided to put an end to her childish games. Friday at dinner Pansy suddenly gasped and slid off her seat. When she tried to get up again, she found that her limbs wouldn't cooperate and started to panic. 

Draco put on a concerned look and offered to take her to the hospital wing. Millicent quickly offered to help too. Snape gave them an assessing look and then dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

They hurled Pansy up and dragged her out of the Great Hall, dropping her in a deserted hallway. Draco smirked at the look of naked fear in her eyes as she stared up at him, completely helpless. He bent down and smoothed her hair back. 

“Don't worry, Pansy. Madam Pomfrey will have you cured in no time.” he promised in a gentle tone. She blinked at him, looking unsure and wary. “You'll be fine in a few hours. It was only meant as a warning, after all. But if you don't stop with your ridiculous antics, I won't be so nice next time. You really should know better than to mess with me.” he finished gravelly.

His warning delivered, they dropped her off at the infirmary and went to meet Harry, Ron and Hermione at the library. 

“Neat trick. Fred and George would've been impressed.” the red-head complimented with a grin.  
“Glad you approve, Ron.” Draco muttered dryly, while Hermione tutted at them.  
“That was completely irresponsible. What if Madam Pomfrey doesn't know how to cure her?”  
“Doesn't matter. The dose I gave her will only paralyse her for about two hours. She'll be fine.” the blond assured. 

Hermione kept muttering, but Harry interrupted her. “She deserved it, Mione. She started it.” he pointed out, before asking Draco if he thought she would stop now. 

Millicent chimed in, before he could answer: “Oh, I'm sure she will. She was terrified. And rightly so. You should have seen Draco. He was dead scary.”  
The blond looked surprised and thanked her for the compliment, while Harry and Ron chuckled and Hermione frowned. 

They settled at a table to do their homework and study. Hermione kept shooting disapproving looks at Draco, but he chose to ignore her. Even Remus had advised him to show the other Slytherins that it would be a bad idea to mess with him. And he hadn't really hurt Pansy. He'd just given her a bit of a scare. Maybe that would also keep Nott from trying anything funny, though he doubted it.

Hermione finally went back to the Gryffindor common room with Ron after Millicent promised to check up on Pansy. Harry and Draco strolled around for a while. Most of the hallways were deserted at this late hour. Students had better things to do than run around the castle on a Friday evening. The quiet was a nice change, since a lot of people were still staring at them. Especially at Harry. The Daily Prophet had already gotten tired of speculating about Draco, but there had been another article about the Chosen One just the day before.

“We should get back to our common rooms. It's almost curfew.” the blond finally broke the comfortable silence that had settled between them.  
Harry stopped and looked up and down the hallway. There was no-one around.  
“We're alone.” he whispered, giving the other boy a pointed look. 

Draco hesitated a second, before pulling him closer. Their lips met in a heated kiss, that went on longer than either had planned. When they finally pulled back they were flushed and breathless. Reluctantly they said goodnight and parted ways, reaching their respective common rooms only a little after curfew.


	4. September

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely and encouraging comments.
> 
> I had some trouble with this chapter, I've got to admit. And again nothing overly exciting happens. Sorry about that. I can promise you more excitement for the next one. Though I can't promise that you're going to like it.

As usual the new Quidditch teams had to be formed in the first month of school. Draco was approached by the new Slytherin captain Urquhart, who told him to show up for try-outs. 

“I'm not putting people on the team, because they're my pals or because their daddy's promise to buy new brooms for us. I'm only looking for talent. No offence, Malfoy. You're a good seeker. But you've got to earn your place on the team like everyone else. I expect to see you at try-outs. And bring Bulstrode. I hear she's been interested before and unlike Flint I wouldn't mind a few girls on the team.”

Urquhart had booked the pitch on Saturday, right after the Gryffindors, so Draco and Millicent went down after breakfast to watch the Gryffindor try-outs first. It soon became apparent that a lot of people had only shown up because Harry was captain. There were an awful lot of giggling girls, people from other houses and even some who had shown up without brooms. 

Draco had to fight the urge to draw his wand and hex those stupid fan-girls into oblivion, while Harry was screaming himself hoarse and quickly losing patience. 

“I really don't envy him. Or you, for that matter.” Millicent commented.   
The blond gave her a puzzled look. “I get why you don't envy Harry. I mean, who would want that kind of attention? But why me?”   
“Well, it must be hard, watching all those girls fawning over your boyfriend. I really don't know how you stand it.” she said in a completely neutral voice. 

Draco was rendered speechless for a moment. How did people keep finding out? First Luna and now Millie?   
“But... but.. he's not.. we're just..” he stammered, earning himself an eye-roll.   
“Oh come on, Draco. I've known for ages that you're bent. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on between you two, with the way you're always looking at each other. And did you never notice that he always finds excuses to touch you?”

No, he actually hadn't noticed.   
“Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone. You can trust me.” she assured.   
“I do trust you.” Draco mumbled, finally finding his voice again. 

She smiled at him and he mused that she had actually turned out quite pretty, despite her size and build. If one was into girls that is.   
“You know, I think I never said thank you. You've always been nice to me, even when others barely tolerated me, cause I'm only a half-blood.” she murmured.

“No need to thank me. I always liked you. I liked talking to you. And you never tried to hit on me, like Pansy.” he said with a shudder. 

“Well, like I said, I always knew you were bent. And you're also not my type. I prefer boys with dark hair. Much like you.” She winked at him and he shook his head, choosing not to comment. “Hey, does that make you my gay best friend now? I've always wanted one.” 

This time the blond did roll his eyes. “As long as you don't expect me to gossip about boys and fashion with you...”   
Millie grinned mischievously, but before she could reply their attention was drawn back to the pitch, where Harry was loudly threatening to curse the rejected beaters. “I really don't envy him.” the girl repeated. “Is Weasley really trying out as keeper again?” she asked then.   
Draco shrugged. “Looks like it.” 

The potential Gryffindor keepers were all not really good. No-one managed to save more than three out of five goals. A boisterous seventh year saved four, but failed miserably at the fifth.   
“What is he doing? He's lumbering about like he's been confunded.” Millie said with an incredulous laugh. 

Draco noticed Hermione sitting behind the goalposts with a definite blush staining her cheeks. Confunded, yeah. He grinned when it was finally Ron's turn and the red-head managed to save all five goals.   
“He's getting better.” he commented. Millicent only huffed.

With the Gryffindor team complete it was time for the Slytherin try-outs. Draco met Harry down at the pitch. The dark-haired boy wished him good luck, but couldn't stay and watch, because he was supposed to visit Hagrid. Draco wasn't sure whether to feel glad or disappointed. They made plans to meet up after lunch and went their separate ways.

***

Harry was glad that he had agreed to visit Hagrid with Ron and Hermione. He hated not talking to the half-giant and was relieved that they had managed to make up. But he still would have liked to watch the Slytherin try-outs and offer some moral support. Therefore he hurried to catch up to Draco after lunch. They headed outside with Ron, Hermione and Millicent, who by now had become a member of their group. Harry found that he liked the quiet girl.

“So, how did it go?” he asked when they finally sat down near the lake.   
“Pretty good, actually. I'm seeker again.” Draco told him with a grin.   
“That's great. Congratulations.” Harry grinned back, fighting the urge to hug the blond.   
“You should have seen him. He was brilliant. The other guys didn't stand a chance.” Millie gushed and Harry grinned at Draco's blush. 

“Millie got on the team as well. She's one of our new beaters.”  
The three Gryffindors turned to grin at Millicent and congratulate her and she blushed as well.   
“I just hope I don't make a fool of myself at the first game.” she mumbled shyly.   
“You and me both.” Ron agreed, looking slightly green.   
“I'm sure you'll both do great. You wouldn't be on the teams if you weren't good.” Hermione assured them. 

***

September went by in a blur of lessons, homework, study sessions in the library and stolen kisses in deserted hallways or empty classrooms. Pansy had taken Draco's threat seriously and stopped bothering him. Nott and his cronies were still mostly ignoring him, aside from a few jibes here and there and Draco almost found himself relaxing. Even if Blaise cautioned time and time again that Nott might be plotting something against him. To him it looked like Theo was busy enough with whatever task Voldemort had set him. He seemed exhausted and stressed out and was likely to snap at anyone who dared to talk to him. 

Most of the other Slyhterins now treated Draco with a kind of cautious respect. He was still a prefect and their seeker, as well as one of Snape's favourites. The truth about Pansy's little accident was no secret either and no-one wanted to be on the receiving end of the blond's anger.

Lessons were growing steadily more difficult. Non-verbal spells were now not only expected in DADA but also in Charms and Transfiguration. Free periods were mostly used to catch up on homework and studying. Harry was surprisingly good at Potions this year, which made the blond a little suspicious. He meant to ask him about it, but always forgot to do so when they actually had a moment alone together. With lessons, homework and Quidditch Draco felt like they had no free time at all.

Harry had one private lesson with Dumbledore, where he learned more about Voldemort's family. He met up with Draco, Ron, Hermione, Millicent and Blaise the next day to tell them what the headmaster had shown him in his pensieve and to discuss what it meant. They all agreed that it was rather interesting that Voldemort was actually a half-blood, but no-one felt that this knowledge would help Harry defeat him.

Despite their immense workload plans for the DA were progressing quickly and by the end of September they were ready to put up the announcement on the notice boards. Ron was all too happy not having to lead one of the groups. Hermione was paired with Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw. The third group would be led by Ravenclaw Anthony Goldstein and Susan Bones from Hufflepuff. 

At first there was a lot of interest in the Defence Association, as the study group was officially called. But once word got around that Harry wouldn't be in every meeting and that different students would be leading the meetings, the enthusiasm lessened somewhat. 

Harry decided to leave the first two meetings to the other pairs in the hope that the people who would only show up to get close to him would grow bored and give up. He also had enough on his mind with school work, the second lesson with Dumbledore (who still refused to tell him what had happened to his hand) and Quidditch.


	5. Rumour has it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short chapter this time. Sorry. And I think you're not going to like what happens...

Draco was walking towards the library in quick strides. He had promised Millie to help her with her DADA homework after meeting Harry to discuss their first DA group. As always he had completely forgotten the time while he was with his boyfriend (they still only got a stolen moment alone here and there after all) and now he was running late. While he knew that Millicent was very understanding and wouldn't be mad at him, he also didn't want to keep her waiting unnecessarily.

Therefore he was very annoyed when he suddenly found his way blocked by two boys from Hufflepuff.   
“Could you move aside, please? I'm in a hurry.” he asked as politely as possible. 

One of the boys snorted. Draco was pretty sure his name was Ernie. The boy didn't like him, because thanks to Draco pairing up with the Gryffindors, he was forced to sit with the other three Slytherins in Potions.

“In a hurry, yeah? Off to use another Unforgivable on an unsuspecting victim?” Ernie sneered.   
“What the hell are you talking about?” Draco asked in confusion.   
“You know exactly what he's talking about.” 

The Slytherin whirled around at the voice behind him. He found Seamus Finnegan standing there, flanked by his sidekick Dean Thomas and Michael Corner from Ravenclaw. Draco was starting to get a bad feeling about this. He couldn't help but notice that he was trapped between the five boys in an otherwise empty hallway.

“No, I actually don't. Care to enlighten me, Finnegan?” he sneered, not willing to show weakness. 

The Irish boy took a menacing step closer.   
“I had a bad feeling about this the whole time. I mean, why would Harry suddenly be friends with you of all people? He always hated you. I knew something wasn't right. But I never thought even you would stoop so low. Using the Imperius curse on him...” he trailed off, shaking his head in disgust. The other four murmured in agreement.

“Wait, what? What are you talking about? I would never...” Draco tried to defend himself, but it was no use.   
“Don't even try to deny it. We know the truth. And we're here to stop you.” Finnegan announced, drawing his wand. The others followed suit.   
The Slytherin quickly pulled out his own wand, but Thomas cried: “Expelliarmus!” and it flew out of his hand.

Draco looked around frantically, trying to find a way out of this. But there was none. He was trapped, no way to escape. Even if he tried to run, they would probably catch him before he got far. His wand lay out of his reach and the hallway was completely deserted. He doubted anyone would hear him if he screamed for help. So his only chance was trying to reason with the five boys.

“I really have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't do anything to Harry. Please, you've got to believe me. I would never hurt him.” he begged. 

But it did no good. They had their minds made up and wouldn't even listen. The five formed a circle around him, egging each other on. Draco knew it was only a matter of time until they started attacking. And he was right.

He was able to dodge the hexes Thomas and Macmillan threw at him, thanks to his quick seeker reflexes. But he was heavily outnumbered. He dodged again, but this time he wasn't fast enough. Michael Corner and Finnegan managed to hit him simultaneously. The force of two combined stunning spells sent him flying backwards into the wall. 

Draco's head connected painfully with the concrete. He crumbled to the floor in a heap. His head was throbbing and he felt something warm and wet trickling down the back of his neck. 

He tried to get up, but dizziness washed over him and every part of his body was hurting. His vision was getting blurry. The chatter of voices told him that the five boys were probably discussing what to do next, but he couldn't understand a word they were saying. And then merciful blackness took him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo... comments, please?   
> (*quickly ducks out of sight*)


	6. Hell hath no fury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments. And better not get used to the quick updates.

When Draco came to, he was lying on a soft mattress and someone was yelling nearby. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings. It took him only a second to realize that he was in the hospital wing. The curtains around his bed were drawn and Millie was sitting in a chair at his bedside. And somewhere outside Harry was yelling at someone at the top of his lungs. 

“... can't believe it! What the hell were you thinking? No! I don't want to hear any more bloody excuses! Do you have any idea what you've done? He could've died!”

Other voices were joining in now. Draco recognized McGonagall and what sounded like Hermione, who was pleading with Harry to calm down. And someone was sobbing.

“Mr. Potter, do calm down!” McGonagall ordered sternly, but Harry's voice only got louder.   
“You're going to set this right! Tell them you lied! Tell them you made it all up! Tell them or I will!” he sounded completely livid.

Draco sat up slowly, startling Millie.   
“You're awake! Thank Merlin. Don't move, I'll get Madam Pomfrey.”   
She hurried away and he continued to listen to Harry's yells and the others trying to calm him, until Madam Pomfrey bustled in and waved her wand at the door, drowning out the sounds. “Mr. Malfoy, how are you feeling? Any residual dizziness or pain?” 

He pondered this for a moment, before shaking his head. “A little tired, but otherwise okay. Nothing hurts.”

The matron nodded and scribbled something on her clipboard. “Good, good. I managed to treat your injuries quickly. You had a nasty gash on the back of your head, a concussion and a dislocated shoulder, along with some minor bruising. According to my tests you were hit with two stunning spells at the same time. Luckily Miss Bulstrode found you shortly after the attack...” she trailed off and looked at her clipboard again. 

“The headmaster will want to talk to you about what happened, but I told him to wait until tomorrow. For now you need rest. I'm keeping you here overnight, but you should be able to leave tomorrow. Now lie back and relax, while I get your potions.” She left again, muttering to herself.

Draco laid back against the cushions and jumped in shock when Harry barged into the cubicle. “Draco... are you okay?”   
The blond nodded and found himself crushed in a hug seconds later.   
“I was so worried... when Millie told me..” Harry kept babbling.   
“I'm fine, Harry.” Draco assured, allowing himself to indulge and lean against the younger boy for a moment. 

“Who were you yelling at?” he asked after a while.   
Harry let go of him reluctantly. “You heard me?” he asked sheepishly.   
“Harry, I'm sure the whole castle heard you.”   
The dark-haired boy blushed lightly. “I was yelling at Ginny.” he admitted. 

“Ginny? Why were you yelling at Ginny?” Draco wanted to know.   
Harry's face darkened in anger. “Because it's her bloody fault! She told Dean that you put me under the Imperius curse!”

“She did what? So that's why they attacked me... They kept saying stuff like that, but...” Draco trailed off when Madam Pomfrey returned, immediately rounding on Harry. 

“What are you doing in here? Didn't you cause enough trouble out in the corridor? Come in here to continue? Or are you here to take a look at your handiwork?”   
The dark-haired boy glared at her. “I had nothing to do with this! And I wouldn't yell at Draco. I only wanted to make sure he's okay.” he mumbled petulantly.   
“I don't care what you wanted. Out with you! Mr. Malfoy needs rest!” the matron ordered sternly. 

“He's not the one who attacked me. Please, can he stay? Only for a little while.” Draco asked, giving her his best puppy look. The one that had always worked on his mother and most of their house-elves. She pursed her lips and looked them over. 

“Fine. Five minutes and not a second more. And don't you upset him.” she warned Harry. Then she forced Draco to swallow a vile-tasting potion.   
Once she had left, Millie poked her head in. “Sorry, I tried to delay her longer, but she got suspicious.”   
Harry shrugged. “It's okay. Thanks for trying.”   
She smiled at them and left again. 

“I asked Millie to stand guard so I could sneak in here. Pomfrey wouldn't let me in and McGonagall banned me to the common room, so I could calm down. She wasn't too pleased about me yelling at Ginny.” Harry confessed.   
“Yeah, I gathered as much.” Draco said with a chuckle. 

“I just.. I can't believe she did that. I mean, sure, she doesn't like you much. But... why would she do something like this? When Neville told me he overheard her telling Dean... At first I was sure that it must be a misunderstanding. But then Millie showed up, almost in tears and told me you'd been attacked...”

“Remus thinks she's jealous of our friendship.” the blond let him know.   
“What? But that's ridiculous.” Harry muttered. He was about to launch into another tirade about Ginny, when he saw Draco trying to stifle a yawn. “Sorry, you must be tired. You're hurt and I keep complaining.” 

Draco shrugged. “It's okay. I think Pomfrey gave me a sleeping draught.” He suddenly had trouble keeping his eyes open.   
“Then sleep. I'll come back tomorrow.” Harry promised. 

He quickly looked around and when he was sure that they were alone he bent down and kissed the blond gently. Draco sighed and his eyes fluttered closed. Just before he slipped into sleep he heard Harry whispering: “And I'll make sure they won't hurt you again.”

***

When Harry entered the Gryffindor common room about 20 minutes later, he saw a flurry of red hair disappearing around the corner. Just as well. He really felt no desire to see her right now. It was bad enough that he was faced with Seamus and Dean. They gave him sheepish looks that had his temper flaring yet again. So much for his idea of taking a walk to calm down.

“Draco has to spend the night in the hospital wing. I hope you're happy!” he snapped at them.  
“Mate, we thought we were doing you a favour. Ginny said...” Seamus started explaining, but Harry cut off his words.   
“I don't care what the hell she said! Why didn't you come to me first? Why did you attack him? What the hell were you thinking? He could've been seriously hurt!” 

Tense silence followed his outburst. Everyone in the common room was staring at him, but for once Harry didn't care if he caused a scene. 

“We didn't think we'd got him that good. It was just a stunning spell. And anyway... it's only Malfoy.”

Ron and Neville managed to grab hold of Harry just in time, before he could throw himself at the Irish boy.   
“You stupid... fucking, thoughtless... prat!” 

Seamus stumbled a step back, realizing he'd said the wrong thing.   
“Harry, please calm down.” Hermione begged, but he ignored her and continued struggling. He was completely livid and the two boys had a hard time holding him back. 

“You always hated the guy. You were rivals for five years and now you're suddenly pals. You've got to admit that it looks suspicious. So when Ginny told us about the Imperius curse we thought...” Dean tried to back his best friend up, but trailed off at the murderous look Harry sent him.

“You didn't think! That's the problem, Dean. Because if you had thought about it for even one second you might have remembered fourth year. When the fake professor Moody put us all under the Imperius curse in DADA. And you might have remembered that I was the only one who was able to throw it off!” Harry spat. 

“Oh... I didn't...” Dean mumbled.   
“Exactly, you didn't. Maybe next time you'll actually think first, before attacking my friends.”

“I thought we were your friends.” Seamus grumbled.   
Harry shot him a venomous look. “Yes, I thought so, too.” He turned to Ron and Neville, suddenly deadly calm. “You can let go of me now. I'm not going to throttle them. I'll leave it to McGonagall to deal with them.”   
They loosened their hold reluctantly. 

“You... you're going to rat us out to McGonagall?” Dean asked.   
He flinched when Harry glared at him and Ron got ready to grab hold of his friend again. But the dark-haired boy contented himself with a glare this time.  
“Yes. Unless you want to save me the hassle and tell her yourself.” And with those final words he stormed upstairs to his room, slamming the door.

“Draco actually isn't so bad once you get to know him.” Ron broke the sudden silence. Dean and Seamus turned to stare at him. “Oh, don't look at me like that. At first I couldn't believe it either. But they really became friends over the summer. We all did, I guess.” 

“He broke with his father. Turned against you-know-who. ” Hermione chimed in. “That's the reason he got disinherited. He spent the summer with Harry and his godfather. And Ron's right. He really is a nice guy, once you get to know him. All that rich pureblood posing is just an act. Something he did to please his father.” she said with a shrug. 

“We shared a compartment with him on the train. He was nice to me and he even chatted with Luna.” Neville added shyly. This caused quite a few whispers. Most people knew Loony Lovegood and steered clear of her.

“But... why would Ginny make something like this up?” Dean wanted to know.   
“Because she's totally daft? Why does she do anything she does? Mate, no-one understands my sister.” Ron muttered, causing a few people to chuckle. 

“You should apologize to Harry. And to Draco.” Hermione suggested. Seamus and Dean groaned and mumbled something like: “Do we have to?”   
The bushy haired girl looked unsympathetic. “Yes, you have to. And I would also take Harry's suggestion and confess to McGonagall. Because if you don't, Harry is going to tell her. And even if he doesn't, I certainly will.”


	7. a happy memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely comments. It's another short chapter today. Sorry. Hope you like it though.

Draco was allowed to leave the hospital wing the next day. Dumbledore had paid him a visit and he had told the old headmaster all about the attack, as well as the things he'd learned from Harry. His attackers and Ginny got a lecture from their heads of houses, who made it very clear that they'd get expelled if they ever dared to attack another student again. They also got four months worth of detentions, lost their respective houses 50 points each and were banned from visiting Hogsmeade for the rest of the year. 

Their parents were notified of their actions, which prompted quite a few howlers in the following days. Ginny alone received two and was nearly in tears when Mrs. Weasley's magnified voice echoed through the Great Hall at breakfast, berating her for her thoughtless actions and ordering her to apologize to poor Draco. 

She did apologize, along with the five boys who had attacked him. They were pretty awkward about it, shuffling their feet and casting nervous glances at Harry, who was standing nearby, glaring daggers at them. 

The news of his outburst had spread like wildfire and within two days everyone in Hogwarts knew that targeting Draco would draw the wrath of the Chosen One. The blond wasn't sure how he felt about that. He'd always been pretty good at taking care of himself and he didn't want to look like some damsel in distress, who needed Harry's protection. On the other hand it was nice that people now left him alone.

Well, most people at least. Nott seemed to find the whole thing highly amusing and kept trying to rile Draco up.

“Kissing Potter's ass now, are you? Oh how the mighty Slytherin prince has fallen. Just wait until I tell the Dark Lord. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear that you went crawling to Potter, because you were too much of a coward to take the Mark.”

“At least I decide what to do with my life myself, instead of letting my father order me around. And I think being friends with Harry is a lot better than serving your psychotic master. How does it feel to be the lapdog of a madman, Nott?” Draco countered.

He was pretty sure that only Snape's timely appearance stopped Nott from attacking him right then and there, but he didn't really care. Even if Blaise reminded him yet again not to mess with the other boy.

“I'm not taking any shit from him. And I'm not scared of him either.” the blond insisted.  
“Maybe you should be. Instead of turning into a bloody Gryffindor.” Blaise complained.  
Draco chose not to dignify that with an answer.

***

He and Harry led their fist DA meeting in the second week of October. Draco was a little nervous, despite all their careful planning, but it went better than expected. Millie and Blaise showed up like they'd promised and they even brought two fifth year boys from Slytherin with them. Everyone behaved surprisingly well. 

There were only a couple of fourth year girls, who kept giggling and eyeing Harry. Romilda Vane was among them. It took all of Draco's willpower not to hex her into oblivion for ogling his boyfriend so blatantly. Thankfully Harry himself had enough after about ten minutes of being stared at and yelled at the girls to either take this seriously or get the hell out. They were very sullen and quiet after that.

To start the meeting, Harry and Draco explained a few basic hexes and answered some questions, before letting people divide into pairs to practice. They went around the room, watching everyone and offering help when needed. Draco was surprised that it actually was as easy as Harry had predicted. A few people kept eyeing him warily, but no-one was openly hostile and after a while two Ravenclaw girls even came up to him to ask for help. Other students from different houses soon followed suit and he found himself answering questions and showing wand movements like he'd done it a thousand times before.

After one and a half hours their time was up and Draco felt strangely proud of himself. The others left amidst a lot of laughter and discussion, while he and Harry stayed behind to tidy up. Now that the DA was an official study group, they were allowed to use the Charms classroom for their meetings, as long as they restored it to it's original state when they were done. Which was unfortunately the job of the group leaders.

Draco was very quiet, despite the successful meeting. He had earlier overheard Luna chatting to Harry about last year's DA meetings and now couldn't get something the girl had said out of his head. It was stupid and yet...

“Harry?”   
The dark-haired boy turned to look at him and he fidgeted for a moment. “Could you... teach me the Patronus charm?” he asked finally. 

Harry grinned. “Yeah, of course. I wasn't sure if you already knew how to do it...” he trailed off with a shrug and came closer. “It's pretty advanced magic, but it's not as difficult as people make it out to be.” he assured. “The incantation is Expecto patronum. But to make it work you have to concentrate with all your might on a single, very happy memory.” 

Draco nodded his understanding. He'd already read as much, but somehow he hadn't dared to try it on his own. He debated for a moment, decided on a memory of his mother and gave it a try. “Expecto patronum.” he pronounced carefully. 

It was not as easy as he'd expected. In fact, it was very hard. He only managed to produce a bit of silver vapour, which faded away instantly and he had a hard time hiding his disappointment. 

“No-one gets it on the first try. It took me three or four, I think.” Harry said consolingly.   
So Draco tried again, with the same result. This was getting very frustrating. He already regretted asking Harry for help.  
“Try a different memory.” the younger boy suggested. “It has to be really happy and really strong.”

The blond nodded, staring at the other boy thoughtfully. Maybe he could...   
“Okay, I think I've got one.” He took a deep breath and raised his wand again.   
“Expecto patronum. Expecto patronum.” 

Suddenly a silvery shape burst from his wand. The beautiful falcon soared around the room once, before fading away. Draco stared at it in awe. He'd really done it. 

Harry was beaming at him. “That was brilliant, Draco! I've never seen anyone do it that quickly.”   
The blond smiled back. “I was thinking of … of the first time we kissed.” he admitted shyly and Harry's grin widened. He glanced around cautiously, before pulling the older boy in for a kiss. Draco wrapped his arms around him and filed the memory of this moment away for the next time he wanted to conjure a Patronus.


	8. the Half-blood-Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks for the lovely comments.   
> Another short chapter. Sorry about that. Next one will be longer. Promise.

Draco and Millicent walked into the library for their weekly study session with the Gryffindors, bickering about Quidditch. Blaise had opted out this time to spend the evening with his newest girlfriend, a Ravenclaw fifth year. The two Slytherins reached their usual table just in time to hear Hermione accuse Harry of cheating. 

“Cheating? Naughty Harry.” Millie joked, sitting down next to the other girl.  
“I'm not cheating.” the dark-haired boy protested.   
“Yes, you are.” Hermione insisted, wrenching the tattered looking Potions book away from him. 

“I thought you ordered a new book from Flourish and Blotts.” Draco wondered.   
“He did. It's in his trunk. He keeps using that one to cheat. That's the reason for his sudden brilliance at Potions.” the Gryffindor girl said accusingly, handing the book to Draco, who flicked through it and stared at the handwritten notes that littered every page. 

“That book belonged to some ponce who called himself the half-blood prince. Harry has been using his instructions and trying out the unknown, handwritten spells.” Hermione let him know.   
“Come off it, Hermione. Those instructions are dead useful. And that Levicorpus thing was funny.” Ron tried to back his best friend up. 

“Let me get this straight: You've been trying out handwritten spells, without knowing what they did?” Draco asked sharply.   
Harry shrugged. “Only a few. What harm is there in trying new spells?” 

The blond gave him a disbelieving look. “What harm? You see that spell right here? Sectumsempra – the one that's marked 'for enemies'? That's a cutting spell, Harry. It slices your enemy to pieces. That's the kind of spell people like my father would use.”

Harry and Ron looked shocked, while Hermione couldn't refrain from saying: “I told you so.”, before launching into a tirade about the previous owner.   
Draco flicked through a few more pages. “I think I know who this book belonged to. And you won't like it.”   
Harry looked apprehensive. “Shit, it was Voldemort's, wasn't it?” he guessed, ignoring how Ron and Millicent flinched at the name. 

The Slytherin snorted. “Not quite. No, I think this was Snape's.”  
The other four gaped at him.   
“You can't be serious.” the dark-haired boy muttered. 

“You mean you really didn't recognize his untidy scrawl? Okay, it's gotten better, but his handwriting really doesn't look all that different now. And the name... Snape's father was a Muggle. His mother was a witch. A witch by the name of Eileen Prince.”

“Which means that Snape is a half-blood Prince. I told you it wasn't a title.” Hermione grumbled in her best know-it-all voice. 

“You need to get rid of that book, Harry.” Draco insisted.   
The younger boy nodded reluctantly and Hermione huffed. “Put it back in the cupboard in the Potions classroom.” she ordered.  
But Millicent cautioned: “I don't think that's such a good idea. What if someone else gets his or her hands on that book and decides to try out a few spells?”   
Ron nodded. “She's right. We shouldn't risk it.”

“Then give it back to Snape.”   
Harry stared at Hermione like she'd lost her mind. “No way! If he finds out that I've only been good at Potions lately, because I've been using his old notes, he'll never let me live it down. And he would tell Slughorn.” he protested. 

“We could hide the book.” Ron piped up. The others nodded in agreement.   
“But where? Where in Hogwarts can you hide a book so well that no-one finds it?” Hermione wondered. 

They all thought about it for a while.   
“In a room that becomes whatever you need.” Harry muttered suddenly.   
Ron and Hermione understood immediately and agreed with matching grins. The two Slytherins gave them blank looks. 

“What...?” Millie started asking, but the other girl shushed her.   
“We'll explain later.” Then she turned to Harry. “Go now. Hide it. I know you'll still have a hard time parting with that blasted thing. So do it now, before you change your mind.” she ordered sternly.

The dark-haired boy looked hesitant.   
“I would go with you, but I've got two essays to finish for tomorrow and the library closes in an hour.” She looked pointedly at Ron, who shrugged apologetically.   
“I still haven't even started on that Charms essay that's due tomorrow.”   
Millie sighed. “Yeah, me neither.”

“I have to finish my Charms essay, too.” Harry protested with a pout.   
Hermione glared at him, which prompted Draco to step in.   
“I'll go with Harry. I can finish my homework later in the common room.”   
The dark-haired boy agreed reluctantly. They packed their things and left the library, heading for the stairs. 

“Okay, now explain to me where exactly we're going.” Draco ordered.   
“The seventh floor corridor.” came the very helpful answer.   
“And what exactly is there?”   
Harry grinned at him. “You'll see.”

When they reached the corridor he asked the blond to wait, while he paced in front of a blank wall. Draco's eyes widened in surprise when a door suddenly appeared out of nowhere.   
“Welcome to the room of requirement.” Harry announced, opening the door and ushering him inside. They entered the room and stopped dead in their tracks. 

It had the size of a cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhabitants. There were alleyways and roads bordered by teetering piles of broken and damaged furniture, thousands of books, no doubt banned or gratified or stolen, chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks, several rusty swords and a heavy, blood-stained axe.

The older boy looked around in wonder. “What is all this?” he whispered, inspecting the nearest mountain of junk. 

“This room becomes whatever you need at the moment. Fred and George told me they once hid in here from Filch. It was a broom cupboard then. Last year we held the DA meetings here. Back then it was filled with books about spells and counter jinxes, dark detectors and other useful stuff. From the looks of it I would say that students and probably even teachers have hidden stuff here for centuries.” Harry explained.

Draco took a moment longer to look around, before walking up to him. “Give me the book.”   
The younger boy handed it over reluctantly. The blond looked around again and finally put the book into an old, damaged cupboard. After considering for a moment, he grabbed a nearby bust of an ugly old warlock, on which someone had placed a battered tiara and put it on top of the cupboard.

“Just in case we ever need to find the book again.”   
“Good thinking.” the younger boy agreed. He still looked like he really wanted to keep it.

“I could tutor you, if you want. I've always been good at Potions.” Draco offered, still staring at the ugly bust.   
“Really? That would be great. And Hermione can't keep accusing me of cheating any more.”

“Well, you were cheating.” the Slytherin insisted, finally turning to face his boyfriend.   
“I know. And I feel bad about it. It was just so cool to finally be good at Potions, after years of having to endure Snape's taunts.” Harry mumbled.

“I'll make sure you'll still get good grades. You'll just have to work harder for it.” Draco promised, before finally asking what had been on his mind since he'd first caught sight of the book. “Why didn't you tell me?” He couldn't quite manage to keep the hurt out of his voice. He'd thought they wouldn't keep secrets like this from each other. He'd thought they were closer than that.

Harry looked apologetic. “I wanted to tell you. Honestly. I wanted to tell you right after that first Potions lesson, but there were too many people around. And then ... I just always forgot. There was so much going on ... with lessons and homework and the DA... And we barely get any time alone.” 

Draco smiled softly. He couldn't really blame the other boy. He had always forgotten to ask about his sudden luck at Potions as well. “We're alone now. I'm guessing no-one can get in here, right?”   
Harry caught on immediately and pulled him closer for a kiss. Homework could wait.


	9. from bad to worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks for the lovely comments.   
> And I even managed a longer chapter this time - yay! It still gave me some trouble. I'm not really happy with parts of it. Did I copy too much from the book? What do you think?

Halfway through October came the first Hogsmeade trip of the term. Harry, Ron and Hermione met up with Draco and Millicent after breakfast. Blaise had opted out, since he'd already made plans with his new girlfriend. Passing Filch took even longer than usual, because he kept triple-checking everyone with his Secrecy Sensor, but finally they made it through and stepped out into the wind and sleet. It was proving to be a cold and stormy day and the walk to Hogsmeade was not enjoyable.

Zonko's Joke Shop had been boarded up, but Honeydukes was still mercifully open. They staggered into the crowded shop and breathed a sigh of relief to be out of the weather. Harry's relief was short- lived however, when he got cornered by Slughorn, who complained that he'd missed all the little parties the potions master kept throwing for his favourite students. Harry excused his absence with Quidditch practice and the DA. Slughorn didn't need to know that he kept scheduling practice so he wouldn't have to go to his parties.

The man might be a competent teacher, but Harry didn't particularly like him. The way he kept sucking up to students with good connections to the Ministry or famous relatives was grating on his nerves. Blaise had also told him that Slughorn was especially fond of that idiot McLaggen. 

“The parties aren't so bad.” Hermione claimed, once Slughorn had left them alone. Since she was top of the class (right alongside Draco) she had also been welcomed into the Slug Club, as Slughorn kept calling his group of favourites. Harry's grades had gone down somewhat since getting rid of Snape's book, despite Draco's help. But since he was the Chosen One, Slughorn was still trying to add him to his collection.

When they finally left the shop, their pockets were bulging with sweets and Ron was in a bad mood because of something Hermione had said. The whole trip was proving to be no fun. They hurried into the Three Broomsticks for a round of butterbeers next. Ron kept staring at Madam Rosmerta, the curvy barmaid, which now put Hermione in a bad mood. As soon as they had drained their bottles, she suggested that they leave. The weather was only getting worse and the frosty atmosphere between her and Ron was further killing the mood, so the others agreed quickly.

They trudged up the road to Hogwarts behind Katie Bell and a friend of hers. The two girls were obviously having an argument. Their voices kept getting shriller and louder. Harry rolled his eyes. Great, just what he needed right now. To stumble into the middle of a girl-fight. He wondered if this trip could get any worse.

Unfortunately it could. The two girls were playing tug-o-war with some sort of package, until it fell to the ground. Seconds later Katie rose into the air gracefully, her arms outstretched, as though she were about to fly. Her eyes were closed and her face empty of expression. There was something really eerie about the whole thing. Harry and the others had stopped dead in their tracks and were simply staring at her. Then she opened her eyes and started screaming. 

Her friend screamed too, seizing her ankles, trying to tug her back to the ground. Hermione and Millicent rushed to help her, but before they could grab her she fell down. Ron managed to catch her, but now she was writhing and still hadn't stopped screaming. It was horrible. 

Harry looked around wildly, but there was no-one around. Just their luck. “Stay here, I'll get help!” he shouted to the others, before sprinting towards the school.

He hadn't come far when he collided with something huge, which thankfully turned out to be Hagrid. Harry quickly told him that Katie was hurt or cursed or whatever and together they ran back to the others. Katie was still writhing and screaming on the ground. The others tried in vain to calm her. Hagrid stared at Katie for a second, before scooping her into his arms and carrying her towards the castle. 

Hermione tried to comfort Katie's friend Leanne, who told them that it had happened when the package tore. The now sodden brown-paper had split open to reveal a greenish glitter. Ron bent down to pick it up, but Draco grabbed his arm and pulled him back. 

“Don't touch it!” he cautioned, bending down to inspect the ornate necklace. “I've seen that before. It was on display in Borgin and Burkes. The label said it was cursed.” he explained.

Leanne, who was still in tears, told them Katie had come back from the bathroom holding the package, claiming she was supposed to deliver it to someone in Hogwarts. They had been arguing about it, Leanne trying to stop her friend from taking the thing up to the castle, but Katie adamant that she had to. 

“We'd better get up to school.” Hermione decided. The others nodded shakily.   
Harry hesitated for a moment, then pulled his scarf from around his face, carefully covered the necklace and picked it up. “We'll need to show this to Madam Pomfrey.” he said, when Ron let out a shocked gasp. 

“He's right.” Draco agreed. “Just make sure you don't touch it.” They shared a quick look and both knew what the other was thinking. Nott had given her that necklace.

They hurried up to the castle to find professor McGonagall already waiting for them. Obviously Hagrid had told her that they'd witnessed the whole thing. Harry showed her the necklace and she told Filch to take it to Snape. Then she ushered the six students up to her office. 

Leanne managed to tell her part of the story before breaking down in sobs. McGonagall sent her to Madam Pomfrey and then turned to the others, who explained about what had happened after Katie touched the necklace. Tense silence followed.

“Professor?” Draco spoke up hesitantly. “I think Theodore Nott gave her that necklace.” All of them turned to stare at him.   
“That is a very serious accusation, Mr. Malfoy. Do you have any proof?” McGonagall said after a shocked pause.   
“No, but...” the blond hesitated, so Harry chimed in.   
“He's a Death Eater. He claims Voldemort gave him a task. We think he's trying to kill someone.”

“We have put stringent security measures into place this year. That necklace can't have possibly entered this school without our knowledge...” McGonagall said after a pause. “and what's more,” she continued when Harry tried to protest, “Mr. Nott was not in Hogsmeade today. He was doing detention with me.”

She got up and went to the door. “Thank you for telling me your suspicions. I will discuss this matter with the headmaster, once he returns from his trip. But now I need to check on Miss Bell. Good day to you all.” She held open her office door, so they had no choice but to leave. 

They sat down on a bench in the corridor and started discussing what had happened. Harry and Draco were still convinced that Nott was behind the attack, despite McGonagall's words. 

“Will you stop it, you two? Nott wasn't in Hogsmeade!” Hermione growled in frustration.   
“Doesn't mean anything. He could've had Crabbe or Goyle do it. I would use one of them if I were in his place. Or Pansy.” Draco reasoned.   
“Or maybe another Death Eater.” Harry suggested.

“I only wish we knew who it was meant for.” Hermione changed the subject. They spent a few minutes discussing options, before Ron pointed out that it hadn't been a very good plan to begin with. 

“Nott's never been very clever.” Draco muttered, earning himself an eye-roll from both girls.   
“Just because we know that he joined the Death Eaters doesn't mean he's behind every evil thing that happens around here.” Millicent reasoned. “It could all be coincidence.”

“But we know he's planning something.” Harry argued. Only Draco agreed. The girls shook their heads and decided to head to the library. After glancing at Harry and Draco, even Ron went with them. 

***

Katie was taken to St. Mungos the next day. The news of the attack spread quickly, but no-one knew that she hadn't been the target, save for the teachers and those who had witnessed the whole thing. Dumbledore dismissed Harry's concerns about Nott as well, when the dark-haired boy voiced them during their next meeting. He merely told Harry that he would handle things and asked him to concentrate on school and the upcoming war with Voldemort instead. 

Harry soon realized that he had another problem to concentrate on. With Katie in St. Mungos his Quidditch team was a chaser short and they were only about a week away from this terms first match against Slytherin. Usually the first choice for a replacement would have been Dean Thomas, seeing how he had flown really well during try-outs. But Harry was still pissed at him for hurting Draco and didn't want him on the team. The same went for Seamus. It was bad enough that he couldn't simply kick Ginny off the team. Especially now with Katie gone.

In the end he chose little Dennis Creevey, who was in third year now. His performance at try-outs had been a bit patchy, but he was a good flyer and very agile, thanks to his small size. He also had a decent broom. 

Practice went okay enough. Dennis worked together really well with Ginny and Demelza. Ginny still flinched whenever Harry so much as looked at her. They hadn't really spoken to each other after the incident, as Hermione had started calling the attack on Draco. Harry usually only barked orders towards her during practice and otherwise ignored her.

So the chasers were sorted out and he was rather pleased with his beaters, who kept improving steadily. Ron's performance on the other hand went from bad to worse. He had gotten into yet another fight with Hermione (this time about Slughorn's stupid Christmas party) and was now constantly in a foul mood. He got angry at the smallest things and frequently picked fights with the rest of the team. 

“I dread the upcoming match.” Harry confessed to Draco. 

He had just crept up to the seventh floor to meet the blond in the room of requirement, after yet another gruesome practice that had ended with Demelza and Ginny almost in tears, the whole team mad at Ron, Ron himself pissed at everyone and everything and Harry almost hoarse from shouting at the lot of them.

“I hope you're not looking for sympathy here. You picked them. It's your fault. And when we step onto the pitch tomorrow, we're opponents. I'm still hoping we'll beat you.” Draco reminded. 

“I know that. Millie already told me she'd try to knock me off my broom. And I have no idea what she said to Ron, but it really pissed him off.” the younger boy answered with a snort. 

“Everything pisses off Ron right now. And Millie won't succeed in knocking you out of the air. She's one hell of a beater, but you're too fast. At least when you're not too busy staring at my arse to pay attention.” the blond joked. 

“Hey, I beat you to the Snitch every time we went up against each other so far. So I'd say it's probably the other way around. You're staring at my arse.”  
“Well, you do have a nice arse.” Draco countered, grinning when Harry blushed. 

“Yeah, well... that's not going to help me tomorrow, when Ron doesn't get his act together.” he changed the subject and Draco's grin widened. He still loved riling the other boy up. But he decided to let Harry off the hook this time. The younger boy already looked downcast enough.

“Who knows, maybe he'll get a lucky day.” he muttered and was surprised at the sudden gleam in the Gryffindor's eyes. “What? What are you plotting now?”

Harry only shook his head with a grin. “Nothing. Just.. strategy, you know. Can't tell you, since you're the opponent and all.” he claimed, before preventing further questions by kissing Draco. 

The blond knew that it was just a diversionary tactic to stop him from prodding further. A tactic worthy of a Slytherin, he thought wryly. But time alone was still a rare thing and he never got enough of Harry's kisses, so he let him get away with it.

***

The next day, Harry was the last one in the changing room after the match. The others were most likely already partying up in the common room. He wondered briefly if they had even noticed his absence yet. Pulling on his jumper he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. 

“Why so down? You won, in case you didn't notice.” 

He opened his eyes at the familiar drawl and found Draco standing in the doorway. The blond had already changed back into his regular clothes as well. 

Yes, Gryffindor had won, but it had been a narrow thing. They'd spied the Snitch at about the same time and gone into a dive from opposite ends of the pitch. Harry was well aware that he had only gotten there first because he had the faster broom. And even then it had been a matter of seconds.

“What did you do to Ron, by the way? It almost looked like he knew what he was doing out there.” 

The younger boy snorted. “I tricked him. I pretended to put the Felix felicis into his pumpkin juice and let Hermione catch me. Just like predicted, she told him and he drank it anyway.” At least the plan had worked, even if it ended up backfiring later. 

“Nice one, Harry.” Draco had to admit. So that had been the idea the Gryffindor had had last night.  
“Yeah, it worked really well. At least out on the pitch. After we'd won I told Ron and Hermione that I had only pretended to spike his juice. They got into another fight, because now he thinks Hermione doesn't believe he's a good keeper. They're driving me nuts.” Harry complained. 

“Just tell them to get it over with and shag already.” the blond advised, rolling his eyes at the surprised look the other boy gave him. “Come on, everyone can see that they fancy each other. It's so painfully obvious.”

“Not obvious enough. They don't see it. And now they get into fights over every little thing and I'm always stuck in the middle.” Harry didn't care that he was whining. The situation was grating on his nerves. As if he didn't have enough problems already. 

“Aww, poor little Potty.” Draco mocked, earning himself a glare. “Want me to take your mind off of them for a while? I actually came in here to congratulate you on your win, you know.”   
That sounded a lot better.   
“Don't let me stop you then.” the dark-haired boy murmured. Seconds later he found himself pressed back against the wall, while Draco proceeded to snog him senseless. 

When he finally pulled back, the blond was breathing hard and a dark flush was staining his cheeks. Harry's eyes darted down for just a second, below Draco's heaving chest, to find his trousers tented at the front. When he looked back up, Draco had flushed an even darker shade of red and Harry could feel his own face heating. His trousers felt uncomfortably tight as well. 

For a moment they just stood there awkwardly, staring at each other. They hadn't done anything more than snogging so far. Harry's imagination went into overdrive every time they were together like this, thinking of all the things Sirius had told him. (Or written into his so-called manual, which was currently bundled up in an old sweater and hidden at the bottom of Harry's trunk.) When he laid in bed alone at night, he fantasized about trying some of those things out with Draco. But he never dared to actually do it. So much for Gryffindor courage.

“We should probably head back. It's getting late.” the blond finally broke the silence.   
“Yeah, people will start wondering where we are.” Harry agreed. 

They gathered their things and walked back to the castle side by side. The awkward moment had passed and the silence was comfortable. When they reached the entrance hall, the dark-haired boy turned towards the stairs, but Draco grabbed his wrist and quickly pulled him into the shadow of a doorway. Before Harry could protest, warm lips met his again. After a few more, lingering kisses, they finally parted ways.

Still grinning Harry finally made his way to Gryffindor tower. He had just reached the portrait of the fat lady, when he heard sniffling nearby. Following the sound warily, he found Hermione sitting in a dark corner, alone except for a small ring of twittering yellow birds circling her head, which she had clearly conjured out of thin air. 

“Hermione, what happened?”   
She startled at the sound of his voice and quickly wiped her eyes. “Harry, I didn't see you. Just got back?” Her voice sounded false and way too cheerful.   
“What happened?” he asked again.   
“Nothing. Everything's fine. I was just practising.”

Harry sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Mione...”   
Finally she crumbled and sagged against him. “Ron's kissing Lavender Brown. In the middle of the common room.” 

He felt at a loss for words. But obviously Hermione didn't expect him to say anything. She merely leaned against his side and continued sniffling quietly, while the birds circled on overhead.   
“I'm sorry. He's a fool.” Harry finally whispered and she giggled, though it sounded more like a sob.

Both of them looked up when the door to the common room burst open and seconds later Ron and Lavender came stumbling along the hallway, laughing and holding hands. “Oh.” Ron said, drawing short at the sight of his two friends. Lavender giggled and backed away, leaving the red-head standing there awkwardly. 

“Hi Harry. Wondered where you'd got to.” he muttered.   
Before Harry had a chance to reply, Hermione cut in:   
“You shouldn't keep Lavender waiting.” Her voice was icy. 

Ron fumbled for something to say, unable to look at her. Harry tried to make a shooing motion without Hermione noticing, but his friend didn't seem to get the hint. 

And then Hermione suddenly drew her wand and pointed it at Ron with a wild look in her eyes. “Oppugno!” The little flock of birds sped towards the red-head and started pecking and clawing at every bit of flesh they could reach. Ron gave a startled yell and ran for it.

“I really shouldn't have lost my temper like that.” Hermione said after a moment of silence.   
Harry wasn't sure what to say to that. Yes, you're right? He deserved it? So he settled for not saying anything at all, which seemed to be the right thing to do. Hermione leaned against him again and they continued watching the yellow birds, which had come back after scaring off Ron. 

They ended up sitting there long past curfew and Harry missed the whole party, but he didn't much care. Ron really was a fool. And if things had been bad before, how much worse would they get now?


	10. Slughorn's party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done. Go me. And it's a longer one again.

November turned into December, Christmas was approaching fast and Harry suddenly wished himself back to the days when all he'd had to worry about were exams and making it through another school year without getting killed. He had really thought his life had been difficult back then. And yet it was nothing compared to what he was going through now.

Ron was officially dating Lavender Brown since that fateful party in the Gryffindor common room. Which meant that the red-head now spent pretty much all of his free time lip-locked with her. Harry shuddered whenever he heard the girl's high pitched voice shouting: “Won-Won!”. It made him glad that he'd never gotten that far with Cho. And while he was happy to get more time alone with Draco, he still missed hanging out with his best mate.

If that wasn't bad enough, he found himself, once more, the best friend of two people who seemed unlikely to ever speak to each other again. Ron was still mad at Hermione for the bird attack and kept mumbling that he'd never promised her anything and was free to snog whomever he liked. 

Hermione's timetable was so full that Harry could only properly talk to her in the evenings. She refused to sit in the common room while Ron was there, so Harry mostly joined her in the library. Sometimes Draco and Millicent were there as well. And Luna, who tended to show up unexpectedly. The three girls had formed an unlikely friendship and could now often be seen studying together. 

But Harry had to admit that it had been more fun with Ron around. Draco was almost as dedicated to studying as Hermione and Millicent was usually very quiet, while the red-head always joked around. Now they only had Luna to lighten up the atmosphere.

Then there was also the trouble with Slughorn's Christmas party. Harry had no chance to weasel out of that one. He couldn't schedule Quidditch practice, Dumbledore had declined his request of having another lesson and since it was the last day before Christmas break, not even Snape would put him in detention. He would have to attend.

Which left him with another problem. He was supposed to bring a date. And everyone knew it. Hermione had already warned him that she had caught a few girls discussing how to best slip him a love potion. The Weasley twins offered those in their shop and had devised a clever plan to deliver them to Hogwarts without having them confiscated, which made it all too easy for those girls. Romilda Vane kept popping up whenever Harry entered the common room, offering him sweets or something to drink. It was getting really tiresome.

The fact that great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals along the corridors all over the castle was just as bad. Harry felt like he was running and obstacle course every time he went to his classes. Ron found the whole thing highly amusing and laughed at him whenever he took a detour to avoid the mistletoe. Well, Ron wasn't the one who had a gaggle of girls stalking him for no other reason than being entitled the Chosen One by the Daily Prophet.

“I'd just invite someone if I were you. That'll stop the others thinking they've still got a chance. The party is next week. They're getting desperate.” Hermione reasoned. 

They were once again sitting in the library with Draco and Millicent, talking in hushed tones, despite the silencing spell Harry had cast.   
“Who are you going with then?” he tried to turn the tables on her.   
“I'm going with Draco.” Hermione answered, completely unfazed. 

Harry turned to stare at the blond in shock.   
“Well, we both knew you can't invite me. And since Mione was getting a bit desperate herself...”  
“I was not!” the bushy haired girl interrupted.   
“You considered asking McLaggen.” Draco pointed out. 

“You didn't!” Harry gasped.   
“Only for a moment. I knew he would annoy Ron the most.” she admitted sheepishly.   
“But then I told her that getting revenge on Ron wasn't worth an evening with McLaggen and suggested that she could ask Draco.” Millie chimed in. 

“Okay, sounds logical.” the dark-haired boy admitted, looking at the Slytherin girl thoughtfully.  
“Sorry Harry. Neville already asked me to go with him and I said yes.” she let him know before he could ask.   
“Longbottom?” Draco wondered. 

Millicent blushed. “He's nice. He helped me with my last Herbology essay.”   
The blond looked at Harry, who shrugged in response. “Neville is a nice guy. She could do worse.”   
“And I guess Blaise will be taking his little Ravenclaw.” Draco changed the subject.   
“Her name is Mary-Anne.” Hermione scolded him. 

“Doesn't matter. He'll dump her soon anyway. I never remember the names of his girlfriends. There are just too many.” Blaise obviously took after his mother in that aspect. She was currently married to husband number six. At least Blaise's girlfriends didn't end up dead, like his step-fathers usually did.

“Which means you're the only one without a date. So just ask someone.” Hermione concluded. Harry huffed and said nothing. 

***

“Just invite a girl to the stupid party and be done with it. You have your pick of them.” Ron reasoned a few days later. They had a free period and were sitting in the common room together, while Lavender was mercifully in Divination. 

“But I don't want to invite a girl.” Harry said petulantly, realizing too late that he shouldn't have put that much emphasis on the girl part. Now the red-head was giving him a quizzical look. Harry had been putting off this conversation for a while now and he figured since they were already on the topic, maybe it was time to come clean to his best friend. 

“I think I … prefer boys.” he admitted.   
Ron frowned. “But what about Cho?” he wanted to know.   
“If anything, that showed me that I prefer boys.” the dark-haired boy said with a snort. And while he was at it, it was probably best to tell Ron everything. “I'm dating Draco.”

He waited with baited breath, expecting some sort of outbreak, despite the fact that his boyfriend and best mate got on really well nowadays. But Ron only nodded. “Yeah, I know. I just thought you were... undecided or whatever.” he muttered. 

Harry looked at him like he'd grown an extra head. Hermione okay. She had a knack for knowing things about him even before he did. And Luna was surprisingly insightful as well. But Ron was usually completely clueless. 

“What do you mean, you know? How long?”   
“Umm... I'm not sure, really. I think I had an inkling after you went completely berserk when he got attacked. And then you started disappearing in the evenings to meet him at the room of requirement. Ginny's jealous bitch act started making sense. And you're always staring at him. It's really pretty obvious, mate.” 

It had to be, when even Ron had noticed.   
“And... you don't mind?” Harry asked cautiously.   
“No, I don't. Okay, at first I thought it was weird. Almost as weird as your godfather and professor Lupin.” he shuddered. “But Draco is a decent guy, surprisingly enough and if he makes you happy...”

“He does.” Harry assured, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, now that both his best friends knew and were okay with it. If only the problem with Slughorn's party would just as easily vanish, he mused when he spied Romilda Vane coming towards them with a box of chocolates.

***

In the end Harry asked Luna to go to the party with him. Just as friends, he felt the need to clarify. Luna smiled that serene smile of hers and assured him:   
“Oh don't worry. I know you're completely smitten with Draco. And I'd love to go to the party with you as friends.” 

Ron couldn't believe that Harry had chosen Luna of all people, but Draco approved. And Harry was very happy about his choice when Luna started repeating her father's weird conspiracy theories regarding the Ministry. At least he could always count on her to make things interesting and get people's attention away from him. 

Slughorn managed to drag him around for a while, introducing him to important people, but Harry got away soon enough. He spent a while hiding away in a corner with Luna, Hermione and Draco and they had fun gossiping about the other guests.

About halfway into the party Blaise decided to break up with Mary-Anne. She didn't take it too well and started flinging insults at him, drawing quite a bit of attention. When she started throwing things, Luna and Hermione went to calm her, so Harry and Draco decided to use the distraction and sneak away.

A few minutes later they found themselves once again hidden away in the room of requirement, making good use of the big, comfortable couch it had given them. They were kissing passionately, tongues battling for dominance. Draco had one hand buried in Harry's hair, while the other one was clutching his hip, trying to draw him even closer. The dark-haired boy complied readily and ended up straddling his boyfriend's lap after a while.

The kiss grew even more heated. Harry shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position, accidentally bringing their groins into contact. Both boys gasped in a mixture of pleasure and shock. They broke the kiss, panting for breath. For what felt like an eternity they simply stared at each other, awkward and uncertain. The air was thick with tension that neither knew how to break.

Then Draco's hand tightened on Harry's hip and he gave the slightest tug. At least Harry thought he did. So he, in turn, did the only sensible thing. He rolled his hips forward experimentally, drawing a groan from both of them when their clothed erections brushed against each other. Since Draco wasn't protesting, he repeated the movement. The blond pulled him in for another kiss and arched up against him, which was all the incentive Harry needed to start moving in earnest. It took them only a few seconds to find the perfect rhythm.

Harry had to break the kiss, gasping for air. A shudder went through him every time they rubbed against each other and he couldn't hold back the little noises spilling from his lips. Frotting – his mind supplied helpfully, in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Sirius. He buried his face in Draco's neck to hide his grin. He was so not going to think about his godfather right now.

One of Draco's hands slipped underneath Harry's shirt, lightly stroking the bare skin of his back. Harry moaned and retaliated by sucking on the blond's neck. He was rewarded with a startled gasp and what sounded like: “Fuck, Harry!” Letting his lips trail lower he found a spot that made Draco cry out and buck up against him. And shit, he wasn't going to last much longer. He felt hot and dizzy and simply wonderful. 

Rolling his hips down harder, he felt Draco tense and then shudder beneath him, gasping his name. His fingers dug almost painfully into Harry's hip and lower back. It was the knowledge that he'd just made the blond come that finally tipped the younger boy over the edge as well. 

Once the shivers subsided, he slumped against Draco, sated and utterly spent. The blond sighed and wrapped both arms around him. Their heavy breathing sounded loud in the otherwise silent room.   
Finally Harry pulled back slightly to look at the other boy. His face was flushed, his pupils so dilated his eyes looked almost black. Again they stared at each other, feeling slightly awkward. 

“That was... wow.” Harry broke the silence.   
“Amazing.” Draco agreed, before wondering: “Why didn't we do that sooner?” Harry shrugged and they grinned at each other.

Shifting slightly Harry became aware of the mess in his pants. He bit his lip and felt his face heat. Thankfully Draco was blushing as well. The blond pulled out his wand and cast a quick cleaning spell on them both. “Thanks.” the younger boy muttered sheepishly, climbing off his lap to sit beside him. 

Harry didn't really know what to do now. Well, he knew what he wanted to do. Curl up against Draco and cuddle for a while, preferably until they both fell asleep. But they couldn't spend the night here. They both had to get back to their respective dorm rooms. And he had no idea if Draco even wanted to cuddle with him. 

“It's already past curfew.” the older boy murmured.   
“I guess we should head back. We need to get up early tomorrow.” Harry agreed, getting up reluctantly.

He was halfway to the door when Draco grabbed his hand and pulled him back for a lingering kiss. “I can't wait to get back to Grimmauld Place and spend the night with you.” he whispered when their lips parted, promptly blushing crimson once he realized what he'd said. “I... I meant.. sleeping in a bed together, you know? Just sleeping. Not... you know.” he stammered. 

Harry grinned, immensely relieved that the blond was just as nervous and awkward about it all as he was. “I know what you mean. I can't wait either.” he assured.

They crept out of the room and looked around, but luckily the hallway was deserted. When they reached the stairs, Harry risked a quick kiss, before they parted ways, wishing each other sweet dreams.


	11. a little “help” from Sirius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weird, writing about Christmas in the middle of March. On the other hand, we've got more snow right now than we did last Christmas (here in Germany). Did I mention how much I hate snow? Nevermind... This chapter contains some Wolfstar. Though only a little. And lots of awkward talks...

Early next morning the Hogwarts express took most of the students home for Christmas holidays. Harry felt weird, not sitting with his two best friends, like he usually did. Hermione was sharing a compartment with Luna, Millie and Neville, while Harry sat with Draco, Ron and Blaise, further down the train.

Blaise was complaining that Mary-Anne had made a scene at the party last night and then tried to hex him earlier at breakfast. 

“What were you expecting? You broke up with her during Slughorn's Christmas party.” Harry said incredulously.   
“I dumped her at the party, because I thought she wouldn't make a scene in public.” the Slytherin reasoned.   
“You obviously thought wrong.” Draco commented dryly.

“My lips are getting all chapped. Lavender wants to snog me all the time.” 

They all turned to stare at Ron.   
“That's more than I ever wanted to know.” Draco muttered, looking slightly sick.   
Harry could only agree with him. It was bad enough that he had to watch his best friend snogging Lavender all the time. He really didn't need to hear the details about their relationship.

Blaise on the other hand launched into another tirade about clingy girls and told Ron he was doing it all wrong. “You need to set boundaries. She's going to think she owns you, if you let her get away with it.” 

Harry was only glad that Lavender's parents had decided to pick her up from school. It meant they didn't have to put up with her on the train. He really was happy for Ron, but quite aside from the fact that Hermione was miserable, his best friend's girlfriend was a right pain in the ass.

The rest of the train ride passed by pretty fast. They bought a bunch of sweets from the lunch trolley, talked some more and played a few games of exploding snap. Before they really knew it, the train was slowing down to a stop. Blaise wished them all a merry Christmas and went in search of his mother and his current step-father. Harry, Draco and Ron left the train together.

They found Sirius and Remus already waiting for them, along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Harry also saw Hermione leaving the train with Millicent, but neither girl looked in his direction. Just as well. They had said their goodbyes before boarding the train and there would be no time to talk now anyway, since the adults were anxious to get them home.

Molly hugged Ron and Harry and then, to everybody's surprise, she also hugged Draco. “Have a nice holiday, boys. And don't forget that you're all invited to Christmas lunch at the Burrow.” she reminded, before ushering Ron and her husband over to where Ginny was waiting, shuffling her feet awkwardly. 

Sirius and Remus took Harry and a still slightly shocked Draco by side-along apparition back to Grimmauld Place. The house was lavishly decorated and almost looked nice. Sirius and Remus were in a good mood, joking and laughing a lot. Kreacher however was just as grumpy as always and greeted them with a muttered comment about blood-traitors. They had dinner and then enjoyed a quiet evening in the sitting room. Draco and Remus played wizards chess, while Harry chatted with his godfather. It was late when they finally turned in for the night.

After brushing his teeth and changing into pyjamas, Harry stood in front of his bed contemplatively for a long moment. In the end he turned away and padded over to Draco's room. The blond was still awake and looked almost relieved to see him. 

“I was hoping you would come over.” he admitted shyly.  
The younger boy crawled into the bed. “I wasn't sure, but... we talked about spending the night together, so...”

It was a little awkward. They hadn't really talked about last night and Harry wasn't sure how to breach the subject. But he knew that they had to talk about it on some point. Last night had been the first time they'd gone this far. It had been great and he wanted to do it again. He also thought that Draco wanted that, too. But he wasn't completely sure and he didn't know how to ask. So he waited for the blond to make the first move.

Which he eventually did. He pulled Harry in for a slow, sweet kiss. “Let's go to sleep. I'm really tired.”

Harry nodded, glad to postpone the inevitable talk for now. They slipped under the covers and he reached for Draco tentatively. The older boy cuddled against him with a happy sigh.   
“Goodnight Harry.”  
Harry grinned and pulled him a little closer.  
“Night Draco.”

***

The next day started slowly. Waking up next to each other was less awkward than Harry had feared. They cuddled for a while, before finally getting up and padding down to the kitchen for breakfast. Once they had dressed the two boys lounged around and played wizards chess in Draco's room, until it was time for lunch.

Remus was currently reorganizing the Black library and somehow managed to rope Harry into helping him. Since no-one asked Draco to help too, he went up to his room to read. He wasn't going to offer his help carrying books around if he didn't have to. And he also knew that Harry would come and get him when he got bored.

About an hour later a knock at the door startled him. He called: “Come in.”, expecting to see Harry (although Harry quite frequently barged in without knocking first) and was surprised when Sirius entered. “Harry isn't here.” the blond said unnecessarily. 

“I know. He's still helping Moony in the library. So I thought I'd use the chance to have a little chat with you.” the animagus explained, taking a seat next to Draco on the bed without waiting for an invitation. The boy gave him a puzzled look. He got along well enough with Harry's godfather now, but they usually didn't chat. If anything, Draco went to Remus if he needed advice.

“About what?” he asked cautiously.  
“Well... I couldn't help but notice that Harry spent the night here. So it's my duty as godfather to make a few things clear.” 

The blond swallowed hard and waited for the inevitable 'Keep your dirty paws off my godson!' that was sure to follow.   
Instead Sirius asked: “Tell me, what do you know about lubrication spells?”  
Draco blinked, not sure he'd understood that correctly. “Excuse me?”  
“Lubrication spells.” the animagus repeated calmly. 

Draco could feel himself blushing. The man wasn't really asking what he thought he was asking? How the hell was he supposed to respond to that? “Err..” he muttered.   
Sirius shook his head sadly. “Just as I feared then. Lucius didn't teach you anything, huh?”

The blond was too shocked to find an answer, but Sirius didn't really seem to expect one. “Well, never fear. We can easily remedy that. You might want to take notes.” 

And to Draco's utter mortification, he got comfortable on the bed and launched into an explanation: “Well, there are different kinds of lubrication spells. I'm sure you know at least one for wanking, right? Aside from that I can personally recommend ...”

***

Harry was happy to finally escape from the library, when Remus decided it was time for tea. A bit of help with the books, the werewolf had said. Had claimed he was mostly done with his reorganizing. An hour tops, he had said. And then Harry had spent almost two hours carrying books around and putting them from one shelf into another. 

Still grumbling about Remus, Harry made his way to Draco's room. He'd been wondering that the blond hadn't come looking for him. But Draco had most likely been clever enough to stay away, lest he get roped into helping too. 

The dark-haired boy rounded the corner and was surprised to see Sirius leaving Draco's room. “Hey prongslet. I just had a little chat with your boyfriend.” the animagus told him cheerfully, ruffling his hair in passing. Somehow Harry had a bad feeling about this. He quickly entered the room and found Draco sitting on his bed. His face was flushed and he looked utterly shocked.

“Hey, Sirius said he talked to you about something.” the younger boy stated.  
The blond stared at him. “He knows that you spent the night here.”  
“Oh. Well I didn't exactly try to be quiet.” Harry said with a shrug.

Draco blinked, obviously trying to process that fact. “At first I thought he was going to warn me to keep my hands off you. But then he asked me about... and then he told me all those … things.”  
“What things?”  
“About... lubrication spells and … positions and...” he trailed off, blushing an even darker shade of red. 

“He gave you the Talk?” Harry asked, once understanding dawned. “You know, the sex talk.” he elaborated, when the older boy just looked at him blankly.   
“I think so?” Draco mumbled and Harry winced.

“Sorry. I should have told you that he knows about us. He claims he knew before we did. And he's totally okay with it. I just didn't think he'd do something like that.” Though, knowing his godfather he should probably have seen it coming. He couldn't help but wonder if Remus had been in on the plan. Had the werewolf distracted him on purpose, so Sirius could talk to Draco?

“Did he... give you that speech, too?” the blond asked hesitantly.

“Oh yes. Twice actually. The first time last year, after I had walked in on him and Remus. And then again in July, just before we left for Hogwarts. And he... he gave me those... handwritten instructions.” Harry admitted, blushing as well. He was not going to tell Draco about the moving stick-figure drawings, which left very little to the imagination. The blond already looked mortified enough.

“You know, I've never... I mean... I snogged Pansy. Mostly because she threw herself at me and to keep up appearances. But... it never went … past that.” Draco admitted, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them. He looked apprehensive and kept his eyes fixed on the floor, as if waiting for Harry to make fun of his inexperience.

The younger boy sat down on the bed and took his hand. “Me neither. I only snogged Cho a few times. So I guess we're on the same level here.” he assured. Draco looked up and there was no mistaking the relief on his face.   
“Yeah, looks like it.” he muttered.

“Why don't we just... take things slow? I mean, we've got time, right? No need to rush. And... I don't think I'm quite ready for … you know...” Harry suggested, shrugging a little sheepishly.

“Sounds like a plan.” Draco agreed readily. “I mean... that night .. after Slughorn's party... it was great. But I don't think I'm ready for … more.” He was blushing yet again and so was Harry. But the dark-haired boy was glad that at least they were both so awkward about it. 

“Good. I'm glad we got that sorted.” Harry admitted, relieved to have gotten this talk over with. And happy that they were on the same page. “Shit, I totally forgot. Remus sent me to fetch you for tea.” he suddenly remembered. He'd completely forgotten about that.  
“Then I guess we shouldn't keep him waiting any longer.”

They made their way downstairs, but stopped just short of entering the kitchen when they heard raised voices.

“What the hell were you thinking? You must've mortified the poor boy. I told you to stay out of it.” Remus scolded, glaring at his boyfriend.  
“But Moony, he didn't know anything. Totally clueless, I'm telling you. And I thought he should at least know the basics, before he attempts to shag my godson.” Sirius defended himself.

Remus stifled a sigh. “I know you, Padfoot. You never stick to the basics. I can vividly remember Harry's reaction, after you gave him the Talk. He couldn't look at us for days. And Draco's still a bit skittish. Especially around you.” Hopefully Sirius' stupid little stunt hadn't destroyed the progress they had made with the shy blond.

“I did stick to the basics. I didn't even mention rimming.” The animagus sounded like a petulant child.   
“I'm sure you mentioned a lot of other stuff. And I told you, they're not nearly that far yet.”  
“Aren't you usually all for being prepared?”  
“But not like this...” Remus tried to explain, launching into another tirade.

Neither man noticed the two boys standing just outside the door, very red in the faces.  
“You know what? Maybe we should just skip tea.” Harry suggested.  
Draco nodded. “Good idea.”

“I only meant well!” Sirius insisted, now going for the full pout.

Remus massaged his aching temples. He really loved this idiot to bits, but sometimes Sirius didn't make it easy for him. Sometimes he actually wanted to strangle the animagus. Unfortunately he could never really hold a grudge. Especially when Sirius was giving him the puppy eyes and that adorable pout. And damn if the bastard didn't know it.

“I know that you mean well, Padfoot. You always do. But I'd really appreciate it if you talked things like this through with me first.”  
“You would've told me not to do it.” Sirius pointed out.  
Remus stifled another sigh. “Exactly my point.”  
“But...”

“No buts, Padfoot.” the werewolf cut in, trying his best to reign in his irritation. It was already too late. The only thing he could do was damage control. He should be good at that by now, shouldn't he?

“Okay, what's done is done. But please promise me that you won't talk to either of the boys about anything sex-related again, unless they specifically ask you. Can you do that?”  
“I guess.”  
“Great.”

Remus noticed the kitchen clock with a frown. Harry and Draco should have been down for tea ages ago. Which probably meant that it was time for more damage control. Ignoring his still pouting boyfriend he grabbed two mugs of tea and a plate with biscuits, placed them on a tray and went upstairs.

His knock was answered with a rather hesitant sounding: “Come in.” from Harry.  
“I'm bringing tea.” the werewolf announced, entering the room and putting the tray down next to the bed. “And I've come to apologize for Sirius. He means well, but he can be a little … over-enthusiastic. Just ignore him.” he advised, looking at Draco apologetically.

The blond blushed and gave him a shaky smile, which was a better response than he'd been hoping for. He smiled back in what he hoped was a reassuring way, before leaving the two boys alone again. Before he closed the door he heard Harry saying: 

“I think that's a good advice. Just ignore Sirius.”   
“I'll try.” Draco mumbled.

Remus smiled. Mission accomplished. He could already guess that poor Draco would be blushing a lot in the days to come, but he was sure that it would all be fine. Though he vowed to make sure not to leave Sirius alone with the boy. Just to be safe. Maybe it would be best to distract the animagus a little. He could show him that nice, hidden corner he'd found in the library. Still smiling to himself, the werewolf went back downstairs.


	12. a very Weasley Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely reviews. They really made my day(s).  
> I'm not really happy with this chapter, but... ah well, see for yourself.

“She's got to be joking!”

Harry jerked awake at the loud exclamation. He recognized the voice instantly, but … that couldn't really be.. “Ron?” he muttered, blinking sleepily up at his best friend, who was nothing but a blurry shape. He reached for his glasses and put them on. It really was Ron, sitting on the second bed, examining something shiny in his hand with a disgusted look. 

“What's that?” Harry asked, before remembering the more obvious question: “And what are you doing here?”  
“It's from Lavender.” Ron answered the first question, sounding revolted. “She can't honestly think I'd wear that!”

When Harry sat up to get a closer look, there was a grumbling sound behind him. He blushed and glanced at Ron, but the red-head was still busy glaring at what appeared to be a thick gold chain. 

Then Draco grumbled something along the lines of: “too bloody early...” and sat up as well, finally drawing Ron's attention away from the chain. The blond promptly blushed when he noticed that they weren't alone, which caused Ron to start laughing almost hysterically.

Harry was glad that he didn't appear disgusted at finding them in bed together. The situation was awkward enough without his best mate throwing a fit. Well, he was having a laughing fit, which was at least better than shouting. Only Draco obviously didn't think so.

“What's so bloody funny, Weasley?” the blond grumbled.  
“Your … your hair. I never thought you could look so... rumpled.” the red-head giggled.  
Draco scowled and tried to flatten his hair. 

Harry watched him, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a grin. He knew exactly what Ron was talking about. The blond usually looked immaculate. Not a hair out of place. Just not right after waking up. Harry had been surprised about that too. He had always thought that while his own hair simply refused to lie flat, Draco's hair would be the opposite.

“What are you even doing here?” the Slytherin asked, giving up on his appearance in favour of glaring at Ron.  
This time the red-head actually answered, though he was still giggling. “Dad wanted to discuss something with Remus and allowed me to tag along. Sirius said I could stay here and go back to the Burrow with you later.” 

When the other two boys just gave him blank looks he reminded: “Christmas lunch. Don't tell me you forgot that mum invited you all.”  
“Oh right, that was today.” Harry remembered. He had mostly avoided the subject, since Draco kept fretting about it. He was convinced that Ron's family still hated him and therefore not looking forward to spending Christmas in their home. 

“Yes, since Christmas eve was yesterday, we're having Christmas lunch today, Harry.” the red-head explained slowly, like talking to a child and then broke into laughter again at the glare the dark-haired boy sent him. 

“Forgive us for not looking forward to that visit. My idea of Christmas doesn't involve getting hexed by your siblings.” Draco grumbled, trying to ignore the fact that he was still in bed with Harry. They really needed to start locking the door. Just yesterday Sirius had barged in, winked at them with a knowing grin and announced that breakfast was ready. Just when Draco had gotten over the urge to blush whenever he looked at the animagus.

“My siblings won't harm you.” Ron assured.   
“Your family hates me.” the blond insisted.

Ron rolled his eyes. “No, they don't. Okay, Ginny might. But she's been warned to behave. She threw a total fit when she heard you were coming and mum got really mad. It was nice to have her yelling at Ginny for a change. Because believe it or not, my mum likes you. I have no idea why, but she does. She ordered everyone to be nice to you and no-one would dare and go against my mum's orders. So I'd say you're safe.”

“Ron is right. No-one would disobey Mrs. Weasley's orders. And Christmas at the Burrow is fun.” Harry tried to reassure his boyfriend.

“It is.” the red-head agreed. “Of course it's a bit of a war zone at the moment, because mum's trying to get Bill to break up with Fleur. She tried to set him up with Tonks, but it didn't work. Small wonder. Who'd take Tonks if he can have Fleur?” he asked rhetorically.

“I like Tonks.” Draco protested.

“She's your cousin. And you're bent. Your opinion doesn't count.” Ron decided, before continuing with his rant: “Mum also put Fleur in a room with Ginny. Maybe she hopes they'll kill each other. Ginny had another fit when she told her. She's really no fun to be around right now.”

“So you've come here to hide?” the blond guessed.   
Ron shrugged sheepishly. “I'm waiting for things to blow over. Everyone will be well behaved later, if only for mum's sake.” he promised.   
“And what the hell is that?” Draco asked, only now noticing the chain in Ron's hand. 

Harry looked at it too and let out a shout of laughter, because dangling from the chain in large gold letters were the words 'My Sweetheart'. 

“His present from Lavender.” he managed to tell his boyfriend, who started laughing right along with him.  
“Classy.” Draco commented.  
And Harry added: “You should definitely wear that in front of Fred and George.”

Ron's face turned scarlet. “If you tell them, I'll... I'll...”  
“Stutter at me?” Harry said with a grin. “Come on, would I?”  
Ron shrugged and turned to stare at Draco.

“Yes, I would.” the blond admitted. “But since I don't usually chat with your brothers, I'd say you're safe.” Ron continued to glare at him and Harry jabbed him in the ribs. “Okay, fine. I won't mention it.” he promised.

“How could she think I'd like something like that, though?” Ron asked no-one in particular, turning to glare at the chain again.  
“Well, think back, have you ever let it slip that you'd like to go out in public with the words 'My Sweetheart' round your neck?” Harry joked, causing Draco to chuckle.  
Ron however, took the question quite seriously. “Well... we don't really talk much. It's mainly...”  
“Snogging. Yes, unfortunately we know. We have to watch it.” Draco grumbled.

The red-head ignored the jibe and finally hid the ugly chain in his pocket. He had a thoughtful look on his face.  
"Did Hermione really go to Slughorn's Christmas party with McLaggen?"  
"What? No, she went with Draco." Harry let him know, surprised at the sudden change of topic.

Ron looked cheered by this.  
"But she spent some time talking to McLaggen, I think. She only invited me because Harry couldn't."  
Ron's face fell and Harry gave his boyfriend a questioning look. He hadn't seen Hermione talking to McLaggen at all. As far as he knew she hated the guy. And rightfully so.   
"Come on, let's open our presents." the blond urged, before Harry could comment further.

Deciding to ask him about it later, Harry got out of bed and started unwrapping presents, thanking both Ron and Draco with a grin. He was actually surprised that Draco had gotten him another present. Yesterday the blond had already handed him a coin like the ones they'd used for the DA last year. He had made one for Harry and one for himself, so they could communicate even while sleeping in different dorms.

Harry grinned at the memory, before going back to opening presents. His pile seemed to grow with each year. Even Millicent had gotten him something and he was glad that he'd remembered to send her that Herbology book Hermione had suggested. A startled exclamation made him look over at his boyfriend again. 

Draco was holding up a Weasley jumper in pale blue, with a big D on the front.  
"Oh yeah, mum made that for you." Ron mumbled around a mouthful of mince pie.  
"Looks like she really does like you." Harry commented with a grin, unwrapping his own jumper.   
The blond seemed too stunned to comment.

After unwrapping their presents, Harry and Draco got dressed and then went downstairs to join Ron, Remus, Sirius and Mr. Weasley for a late breakfast. Then Ron and Draco spent some time playing wizards chess, while Harry watched. After some persuasion he managed to talk Draco into wearing his new Weasley jumper to lunch, assuring him that pretty much everyone would be wearing them and Mrs. Weasley would be happy.

The Slytherin felt a little less awkward when they reached the Burrow, which was crowded, noisy and overflowing with people and he saw that really almost everyone was wearing jumpers similar to his. Sirius and Remus had even gotten matching ones. Both were red with golden paw-prints all over the front.

Fleur was one of the rare exceptions. She obviously hadn't gotten a hand-knitted jumper, which made Draco feel a lot more accepted. He hugged Mrs. Weasley back when he found himself enveloped in her arms yet again and thanked her for the gift.

"No need to thank me, darling. I think the colour really brings out your eyes." she commented with a smile.  
"Great. What about my eyes? Why do I always get a maroon one?" Ron complained. Quietly, so his mother didn't hear, of course.  
Draco barely resisted the urge to stick out his tongue at him.

Lunch at the Burrow was a noisy affair and had him feeling very out of his element. Christmas lunch at Malfoy Manor had always been quiet and almost sombre, with his father drinking too much, harassing the house-elves and complaining about the food and his mother sitting quietly in her chair, making sure not to anger her husband. Draco had been lectured on proper table manners since he was four and punished if he didn't use the right fork for the right course.

Here everyone was talking over each other, while the food was passed around the table. There was no fancy table cloth or fine china and no-one seemed to give a damn about manners. But everyone seemed to have a good time. Sirius' bark-like laughter was mixing with Mrs. Weasley's idle chatter and the twin's gleeful stories about their new business. Draco found that he liked the easy atmosphere, even if it took some getting used to. It lessened his pain over the fact that he could never go home again.

So far everyone had been surprisingly nice to him and accepted his presence without much fuss. Even the twins and the two oldest Weasley sons Bill and Charlie. Only Ginny was glaring at him from her seat at the far corner of the table. Then again, Ginny seemed to be glaring at pretty much anyone. He almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

Suddenly Mrs. Weasley looked out of the window with a gasp, startling everyone.  
"Arthur! It's Percy!"

It was indeed Percy Weasley, walking towards the house, despite having broken with his family last year. But he wasn't alone. Rufus Scrimgeour, newly appointed Minister for Magic, was with him. 

Mrs. Weasley ushered both men inside, probably more pleased to see her estranged son than the new minister, who claimed that it had been Percy's idea to visit. Percy however looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here and returned his mother's greeting rather stiffly. And when Scrimgeour not-so-subtly asked Harry to accompany him on a stroll through the garden, so Percy could reconnect with his family, no-one believed the ruse any more

A sudden quiet fell over the table. Sirius looked like he wanted to throttle the Minister. But Harry assured them it was fine and went outside with Scrimgeour. Draco watched them go with a frown. Mrs. Weasley was fussing over Percy, who still kept himself stiff and formal towards his mother and barely acknowledged the rest of the family, but the Slytherin ignored them. He was staring out of the window, trying to see where Harry had gone, his stomach churning with worry.

He had no idea how much time went by like this. Only that it was too much in his opinion. Glancing around the table he noticed that he wasn't the only one worried. When he locked eyes with Sirius, the older man nodded and they both got up, heading to the garden. They found Harry and the Minister not far from the house. Scrimgeour had a stony expression on his face, while Harry looked pissed. 

"Sorry to interrupt, but my godson is missing dessert." Sirius called, not sounding sorry at all.  
"Of course. I didn't mean to intrude." the Minister assured, pasting a fake smile onto his face and following the animagus back inside.

Draco fell in step beside Harry. "Everything okay?"  
The dark-haired boy only shrugged.

By the time they made it inside, Scrimgeour and Percy had already left again.  
"What did he want?" Sirius asked.  
"He wanted me to play mascot and make it look like I'm working for the Ministry."  
"I hope you told him where to stick his idea?"  
Harry grinned. "Don't worry. I did." he assured his godfather, who looked proud.

Everyone was either looking at Harry or staring at their plate and a strange silence had settled over the group. Draco shifted uneasily in place, suddenly missing the inane chatter and loud noise from before.

Until one of the twins called: "Hey Draco, look up!" Fred, judging by the F on his jumper.  
The blond did and froze when he noticed the mistletoe hanging directly above his head. He could have sworn that hadn't been there a minute before.  
"You know the rules Harry!" George hollered, grinning along with his twin-brother.

Draco glanced at Harry nervously. The younger boy shrugged and stepped closer. The blond was all too aware that all eyes were on them. And while Ron, Remus and Sirius knew and were okay with them dating, he had no idea how the others would feel about it. Especially Mrs. Weasley. 

But then Harry cupped his jaw and leaned in for a soft kiss and he forgot all about the others for a few seconds. At least until the twins and Sirius started whistling and making cat-calls. He pulled away and returned to his seat, blushing furiously and not daring to look at anyone.

Only when Harry took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, did he lift his head again. To find most of the others smiling at them. No-one seemed to mind. Well, no-one but Ginny (who was once again glaring daggers at him) and maybe Fleur (who looked slightly put out). Mrs. Weasley assured them that they looked very lovely together, while they had to endure jibes from the twins and their older brother Bill. Draco was pretty sure that Sirius was only keeping his mouth shut because he had received some sort of warning from Remus. 

"Was that necessary? I'm mentally scarred now." Ron complained loudly.  
Draco snorted. "You're mentally scarred? What about us? We have to endure you snogging Lavender all the time."  
"Aww, did ickle Ronniekins get himself a girlfriend?" George joked.  
"Our baby brother is growing up." Fred chimed in and they proceeded to make fun of Ron now.

Conversations were picked up again and Draco started to relax. Ginny was still sulking in her corner and throwing him death-glares, but aside from that everyone seemed okay with him and Harry. He was once again surprised at the acceptance these people had shown him. And he finally allowed himself to let his guard down and enjoy the rest of Christmas lunch. He even joined the twins in making fun of Ron, after Harry had let it slip that Lavender called him Won-Won. Best Christmas ever.


	13. What the hell is a Horcrux?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first I want to thank everyone for the lovely reviews.  
> And second, since I totally forgot to acknowledge her until now, also a big thanks to my friend and beta Mathilda. Sorry I didn't mention you earlier.  
> And now on to the next chapter...

Christmas break went by in a breeze and way too soon they had to return to Hogwarts. Harry, Draco, Ron and Ginny were allowed to use the floo in McGonnagall's office, so they were at least spared the train ride back. They parted ways just outside the office, heading for their respective common rooms. 

Harry spent the evening with Hermione, telling her about his holiday and the visit from the Minister, while Draco sat in the Slytherin common room with Blaise and Millicent, regaling them with stories of Christmas at the Burrow and how much fun it had been.

It felt strange to sleep alone, after sharing a bed with Harry during the holidays, but Draco slowly got used to it again. The coins he'd made for them helped a lot. They at least enabled him to communicate with Harry, while they were both lying in separate beds, in different parts of the castle.

They managed to meet up in the room of requirement once in the first week back, but they found it blocked the other two times they tried. Harry shrugged and told Draco that everyone who had been in the DA last year knew about the room. And no-one could tell who else had been let in on the secret by now.

He had another lesson with Dumbledore shortly after coming back and met Draco, Ron, Hermione, Millicent, Luna and Blaise in the room of requirement the next day to discuss what he had learned.

"When he was a student here, he asked Slughorn about something called a Horcrux. Dumbledore made me view Slughorn's memory, but he said it had been tampered with. He wants me to get the real memory from Slughorn." he let the others know.

"I've never heard of a Horcrux before." Hermione mused.  
"Neither have I." Draco had to admit.  
The others hadn't either.

"It sounded like serious dark magic." Harry muttered.  
"I'll have a look in the restricted section of the library. Maybe I can find something." Hermione decided.  
"And I'll have to talk to Slughorn. What a joy." The Potions teacher was still very fond of Harry, despite his dropping grades. Maybe his favouritism would finally be useful for something.

He decided to get it over with quickly and ask Slughorn after their next Potions lesson, which came way too soon for his liking. They were studying antidotes now and Harry had no idea what their teacher was even talking about. Hermione, as always, quoted perfectly from the book, making him understand even less, if possible. And then they were each handed a vial and told to brew an antidote.

Harry cast an imploring look over at Draco, who muttered: "Just copy what I do." and then tried to coach him through. Unfortunately this did nothing to improve Harry's antidote, which resembled a black glob at the end of the lesson. Not that the others were much better off. Only Draco and Hermione managed to create something resembling an antidote.

"Antidotes are pretty useless anyway. You can just use a bezoar for most poisons. If you have one at hand, that is." the Slytherin told him after the lesson.  
"A bezoar?"  
"A stone found in the stomach of a goat. Snape talked about them in our first ever lesson, remember?"  
Yes, Harry did remember. Distantly. Snape had done so to make him feel stupid.

Despite his blotched Potion, Harry tried his luck and went up to ask Slughorn about that memory after class had been dismissed. But unfortunately the Potions master wasn't fond enough of Harry to freely hand it over. He got rather cold and told Harry only what he'd already witnessed in the false memory, before sending him on his way.

"So much for this plan." Harry muttered darkly, while he was walking to the great hall with the others.  
"I've been through the whole library and I haven't found anything about Horcruxes." Hermione confessed.  
"So I really need that memory."

"Or we need a different library." Draco mused.  
"Unfortunately we only have that one." the Gryffindor girl reminded him.  
"What about the one at Grimmauld Place? You could ask Remus to look there."  
"He mentioned some books about pretty dark stuff when I helped him during the holidays." Harry remembered.  
"It's worth a try." Ron chimed in.  
"Okay, I'll contact Remus and ask him to take a look for us." Harry decided. 

Then they were interrupted by Lavender, who screeched "Won-Won!" at the top of her lungs, before throwing herself at Ron. Hermione's face got that closed-off expression it always did when she saw them together and she promptly marched off with Millicent in tow, muttering something about saving Harry a seat. Harry shared a long suffering look with Draco, Blaise just shook his head and they hurried to follow the girls.

Surprisingly enough, Ron joined Harry only a minute or so after he had taken a seat at the Gryffindor table, while Lavender sat with Parvati, a good way down. When Harry turned to the red-head, he only shook his head and muttered: "Don't ask."

***

January slipped into February and Harry found himself more busy than ever. Lessons were really demanding, though he was getting a lot better at non-verbal spells and even managed to keep up in Potions, thanks to Draco's tutoring. His Quidditch team was shaping up nicely, even with Katie Bell missing and pretty much everyone still avoiding Ginny like the plague. Harry actually felt bad for her, having also seen her sitting by herself in the common room a few times, but couldn't quite bring himself to approach her yet. The image of Draco in the hospital wing was still too vivid in his mind.

February also meant Apparition lessons, which weren't half as much fun as most of them had anticipated and only added to their already immense workload. Harry and Draco found even less time to sneak away together. To make matters worse, the room of requirement, strangely enough, seemed blocked even more often, forcing them to resort to short snogs in alcoves, abandoned classrooms and hidden niches. That also meant that they had to be more careful. A few times Peeves almost caught them and once they were interrupted by Mrs. Norris. Ron wasn't seen snogging Lavender that often any more. He actually seemed rather keen on avoiding her.

Another thing that gave Harry pause was the fact that Theodore Nott was getting increasingly jumpy and nervous. He hadn't confronted Draco again since the Christmas holidays and instead seemed preoccupied with something else. Both Draco and Blaise had seen him sneaking out of the Slytherin dorms at odd hours and they had also noticed that he just disappeared for long periods of time. So far they hadn't found out where Nott was going, despite using the Marauder's Map to track him down.

Harry had only tried to approach Slughorn one more time, only to be shot down immediately. The potions master suddenly seemed a lot less happy about his presence. And with all the other stuff that was going on, with lessons and Apparition and Draco, the dark-haired boy had pretty much forgotten about Horcruxes, when Remus showed up for a surprise visit one Saturday afternoon and ushered them into an unused classroom. Once Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Millicent, Luna and Blaise had taken seats, the werewolf started explaining with a grim expression:

"I did some research, like you asked. There really isn't much to be found about Horcruxes in most books. Which is a good thing, if you ask me. Because Draco was right about the Black library being very extensive. Especially where the dark arts are concerned."

"So you found something?" Harry prodded.  
"I did. There is one book that provides a lot of information and even specific instruction on how to create a Horcrux. It's called Secrets of the Darkest Art. An old book that has been banned years ago. What I read there was frightening, but it also explains a lot."

"What did you find out?" Hermione wanted to know.  
Remus expression turned even grimmer.  
"A Horcrux is very dark magic. As far as I could find out, only one wizard has ever attempted to create one and that was ages ago. It's basically an object in which a dark witch or wizard has hidden a fragment of his or her soul. Which makes them nearly immortal."

Stunned silence followed his words.  
"So… Voldemort created a Horcrux?" Harry asked.  
"I think so. To create a Horcrux he needed to split a part of his soul and hide it away outside of his body. And when the killing curse rebounded that night he murdered your parents, he was actually killed. But that fragment of soul survived, making it possible for him to continue his existence and be brought back properly later on."

"That's awful." Millicent whispered.  
"And not even the worst of it. Because to create a Horcrux a wizard first has to deliberately commit murder. This act, said to be one of supreme evil, would result in the murderer metaphysically damaging their own soul. That damage would then be used by casting a spell, which would rip the damaged portion of the soul and encase it in an object."

"Well, we know he has no problem with killing people." Draco said quietly.  
"No, he doesn't." Remus agreed. "He probably never had, seeing how he asked after the Horcruxes when he was still a student here."   
"Doesn't mean he created one while he was still a student." Blaise interjected.

"But I think he did. Remember the diary you destroyed in second year?" the werewolf asked, looking at Harry.  
"You mean … that was a Horcrux?"  
"I believe so. And you said when Voldemort materialized out of the diary, he looked like his younger self."  
"He looked like he did in that memory Dumbledore showed me. When he asked Slughorn." Harry realized suddenly.  
Remus nodded. "I think he must have created the Horcrux around that time."

Again silence descended over the group, as they all tried to come to terms with the fact that Voldemort had obviously committed his first murder when he'd been about their age. Maybe even younger.

"But Harry destroyed the diary." Ron spoke up after a while.

"He did. A Horcrux is very durable. But it is dependent on the container for its existence. If the container is destroyed, the fragment of soul within it will be destroyed as well."

"So… since I destroyed the Horcrux, that means Voldemort is no longer immortal?" Harry mused.  
"I believe so."  
"Well, that's good news, right?"  
"It is. It means he can be defeated. Once and for all, this time." Remus agreed.

"Great. I'll tell Dumbledore in our next meeting. I bet that should answer all of his questions and I won't need to get that memory from Slughorn. Thanks for your help, Remus."  
"No need to thank me. I've always been good at research." the werewolf assured.

He took his leave shortly after, while Harry and the others hung back to discuss what they had learned. They were all appalled at Voldemort's cruelty, even at such a young age. Harry told them a bit more about that first memory Dumbledore had shown him. How evil Voldemort had already been at eleven. Millicent couldn't stop shivering and Ron looked very pale by the time they left the classroom.

They were just about to enter the great hall, already late for dinner, when Lavender appeared out of nowhere, immediately rounding on Ron.  
"Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting for you for almost an hour!"  
"Sorry, I was busy." the red-head muttered, trying to walk past her.

She grabbed his arm to stop him, her face darkening in anger. "But we had plans! I've been waiting for you. And why were you with her?" she screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Hermione.  
"Because we're friends and we had stuff to discuss." the red-head grumbled, shaking her off.

Lavender was getting more angry by the minute. Harry was only glad that most people were already in the hall and not here to witness what was sure to become ugly very soon. This fight had been brewing for a while, if he was quite honest. Ron visibly tried to reign in his temper, but the tell-tale flush gave his anger away.

"What stuff? And why couldn't it wait? I told you to meet me before dinner."  
"I'm not your bloody house-elf. You don't get to order me around." Ron shot back, losing the battle with his temper.  
"You never do anything for me." Lavender accused, suddenly sounding close to tears. "You don't even wear the chain I got you for Christmas."  
"Of course not. That thing is bloody ugly!"

She gasped like Ron had slapped her, clapping a hand over her mouth dramatically.  
"You're an awful boyfriend! I don't know what I ever saw in you."  
"Well, I don't know what I saw in you either. You're annoying and clingy!" Ron shot back.  
"Fine, then. It's over. And don't come crawling back to me!"  
"Don't worry. I won't!"

Lavender gave him one last, wounded look and then turned and fled. Ron muttered something under his breath.  
"What did I tell you? Boundaries." Blaise reminded, clapping the red-head on the back, before heading inside.  
Draco and Millicent followed him, after giving Ron a sympathetic look.  
"Come on, before we miss dinner." Harry urged and they went into the great hall as well.

"I'm glad to be shot of her." Ron insisted a little while later around a mouthful of chicken.  
"You're not the only one." Harry agreed with a heartfelt sigh.

Hermione smirked at them, obviously pleased with this turn of events, but unwilling to comment. Harry hoped that things would go back to normal now. At least as normal as they ever got around here.


	14. Hormonal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I've been rather busy with work and didn't have much time to write. On the other hand - is anyone even still reading this?

With Lavender out of the picture, Hermione and Ron made up in no time, settling back into their usual friendship. Though Harry couldn't help but notice the lingering tension and awkward moments between them. Sometimes one of them would say something, pay the other a compliment or something like that and they'd both blush and very pointedly not look at each other. Or their hands would touch accidentally and they'd get all nervous and awkward. It was starting to grate on Harry's nerves.

"I really wish they'd get it over with and just snog already." Draco grumbled.  
"Tell me about it." Harry agreed.

To be fair, Millicent and Neville were just as bad. They kept skirting around each other, meeting in the library to study together, but refusing to take things further. Millie, who usually reminded Harry of a fearless Amazon, with her tall, muscular stature and her death glares that could frighten any guy, suddenly turned into a blushing little girl when confronted with Neville. And the Gryffindor, for all that he'd grown up during the last couple of years, reverted back to his bumbling, first-year persona whenever she looked at him.

Blaise had his sights on Parvati Patil now, after a short flirt with Astoria Greengrass, which had quickly ended once Astoria's older sister Daphne had caught wind of it and threatened to hex Blaise's balls off should he dare to touch her baby sister. 

Harry was incredibly glad that things were so easy with Draco, despite the whole sneaking around and boy-boy thing. Maybe it actually was that easy because Draco was a boy. He couldn't be sure.

***

The end of February brought the next Quidditch match - Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw. Seamus Finnegan was commentating this time, lashing out against the Slytherin team, but very careful not to insult Draco. Most likely because of Harry's outburst from a few months ago. The dark-haired boy still hadn't forgiven him and their interactions were rather frosty.

The game was fast paced, with Slytherin only playing slightly dirty. Harry knew that he should watch the match and analyse Ravenclaw's strategy, seeing how they would have to play them later in the year, but he couldn't take his eyes off Draco. 

The blond was a vision, zipping around on his broom, hair blown wild by the wind and eyes narrowed in concentration as he looked for the Snitch. He'd never been able to really appreciate the way Draco looked on a broom before. How he gripped the handle, how his body moved, completely in control. Watching him now, fully in his element, made Harry's chest feel too tight. It made him realize just how much the Slytherin meant to him.

"Oi, mate! Stop drooling over your boyfriend and pay attention." Ron suddenly grumbled in his ear.  
Harry tore his gaze away from Draco with difficulty.   
"I'm not drooling."  
"Sure you're not."  
"You were saying?" the dark-haired boy asked, blushing lightly over being caught staring.  
"I was saying that their new chaser is crap. And Coventry seems a bit weak for a beater."

Harry concentrated on the Ravenclaws and had to admit that his friend was right. The new chaser, Bradley, couldn't seem to hold on to the quaffle long enough to get it anywhere near a goalpost and Coventry wasn't hitting the bludger with nearly enough force. Vaisey, the Slytherin chaser, managed to duck effortlessly and scored yet another goal. Slytherin were already in the lead. He winced when Millicent whacked a bludger at Bradley, nearly knocking him off his broom.  
   
"She's so strong. And so talented." Neville gushed beside him.  
Harry rolled his eyes and clapped along with the others when Vaisey scored another goal. At least he was only admiring Draco silently.  
   
"Merlin's bollocks, I can't believe we're cheering for the Slytherins." Ron muttered.  
"Things really have changed, huh?" Harry agreed, glancing over at Blaise, who had joined them in the Gryffindor stands. Mostly to have another chance to chat up Parvati, Harry suspected. But the really interesting thing was, no-one batted an eye-lash at his presence.  
   
"Look!" Hermione yelled suddenly, just as Seamus announced:  
"Looks like Malfoy's seen the Snitch."  
   
Harry turned in time to see Draco go into a spectacular dive. He gripped the rail in front of him tightly and held his breath as he watched the blond hurtling towards the ground at top speed. He pulled out of the dive at the last minute, raising back up in the air, the Snitch clutched tightly in his fist. The Slytherins (and assorted Gryffindors) broke into cheers.  
   
"Draco Malfoy caught the Snitch. Slytherin wins." Seamus announced rather listlessly.  
   
Harry caught Draco's gaze and felt a grin splitting his face. Draco grinned back. His hair was a tousled mess, his cheeks rosy and his chest was rapidly rising and falling with each breath. Harry was sure he'd never looked more beautiful.

***  
   
The stands emptied slowly, with people still discussing the match and Draco's spectacular catch, while some of the Ravenclaws complained about cheating Slytherins. Ron and Blaise were making plans to sneak into the old Charms classroom for a private, mixed-house party. Hermione kept tutting at them, but they all knew that it was mostly for show and that she'd give in and tag along.  
   
Once they reached the exit, Harry hung back. Hermione gave him a knowing look and ushered the others back towards the castle. He mouthed "Thank you" in her direction, before heading to the changing rooms. Once there he ducked into a hidden corner, where he wouldn't immediately be spotted, but could keep an eye on the doors to the changing rooms.  
   
It didn't take long until the Ravenclaw players emerged, looking either angry or dejected as they trudged back to the castle. The Slytherins followed shortly after, laughing and joking around with each other. Harry noticed immediately that there was one Slytherin missing and couldn't help but grin. He knew that Draco liked to take his time in the shower, which meant that he was usually the last one to leave the changing room.   
   
Once the other players were out of sight, he quickly slipped through the door. The room was humid and full of steam from the showers. Harry looked around until he spied his boyfriend. Draco was just lacing his shoes and hadn't put on his shirt yet. The dark-haired boy found himself staring at his pale back. Despite the fact that they had shared a bed every night during Christmas holidays and even fooled around a bit, he'd only seen his boyfriend shirtless a few times.  
   
They had both shied away from taking things much further than that night in the room of requirement, still a little unsure of themselves and also afraid of being caught in the act. Back at Grimmauld Place there had always been the fear that Sirius or someone else might barge in. And now back at Hogwarts it was hard to find a quiet place where no-one would disturb them. Peeves seemed to have realized that they were hiding something and was determined to catch them at it. They also hadn't really talked about it again, after that one, awkward conversation following their first night together.  
   
"I said I'd catch you up. There's no need to come back and rush me." Draco's voice suddenly cut through his musings.  
"I'm actually here to congratulate you on your win."  
   
The blond whirled around in shock, staring at Harry with wide eyes.   
"Oh. I… I didn't know it was you. I thought Millie had come back." he explained, blushing lightly when he caught Harry staring at his naked chest.  
"Yeah, I… I can wait outside, while you…" the younger boy offered nervously, silently berating himself for sneaking in here and ogling his boyfriend.  
   
Draco bit his lip in thought, before seemingly coming to a decision. Shaking his head slightly he took a step towards Harry.   
"That's okay. Since you came all the way here to congratulate me, it would be terribly rude of me to send you away, wouldn't it?"  
"I guess it would." Harry agreed, catching on and taking a step towards Draco as well.   
   
They met in the middle, only inches apart and hesitated for a moment. Gathering his famous Gryffindor courage the younger boy finally closed the distance and leaned in for a kiss. He sighed in relief when the blond responded by tangling a hand in his hair to pull him closer. Harry's arms wrapped around Draco almost of their own volition, his hands stroking the naked skin of the blond's back gently. He'd pushed his hands beneath Draco's shirt before, when they had been making out, but it still felt new and exhilarating.  
   
The kiss seemed to go on forever, steadily growing in intensity. They only broke apart when the need for air became too great. Harry's pants felt uncomfortably tight and he was sweating in the humid air. For a second they stared at each other. Then Harry suddenly found himself pressed back against the wall as Draco leaned in for another kiss. The dark-haired boy responded eagerly, his hands moving over the blond's naked back erratically, caressing and stroking, while simultaneously trying to pull him closer.  
   
Draco complied, shifting closer and both boys gasped in surprise when their groins brushed. They stilled for a second, as if unsure how to proceed, despite the fact that they had done this a few times already. Harry could never quite tell how they ended up like this. Most times it wouldn't go past snogging and maybe a few light touches. Either because one of them remembered where they were and put a stop to it before they could be discovered or because they got interrupted. Mrs. Norris had almost caught them at it twice already.

But this time there was no Mrs. Norris and no Peeves to interrupt them. They were alone. Draco captured Harry's lips again, while giving an experimental roll of his hips. Harry groaned and arched his back, which was all the encouragement the blond needed to start moving in earnest.   
   
They had to break the kiss again, due to lack of air. Draco buried his head in Harry's neck, mouthing at the sensitive skin he found there, while they rocked their hips together, their gasps and breathy moans filling the air. Harry's hands had stilled their aimless wandering and were clutching the Slytherin's shoulders for support instead, as their pace increased.   
   
It was over all too soon. Harry's back arched as his orgasm ripped through him, leaving him weak in the knees. Draco rocked his hips against him a few more times, before he tensed and shuddered in the younger boy's arms, muffling a low moan against the side of Harry's neck. The Gryffindor wondered distantly if he'd have a hickey tomorrow, but couldn't really bring himself to care right now.   
   
Sated they clung to each other until their breathing evened out and their heartbeats slowed to normal. When they pulled apart the usual awkwardness set in. They glanced at each other with shy smiles.

"Guess that shower was for nothing." Draco muttered with a wry smile.  
Harry chuckled. "Guess so."  
   
And just like that the tension was broken. The blond cast a quick cleaning charm on both of them, before pulling on his shirt and packing his things. Harry leaned against the wall and watched him as he fussed with his hair.

"Come on, Draco. Your hair looks fine." he urged. "The others are already waiting for us. They wanted to sneak into the old Charms classroom to celebrate. Ron said something about raiding the kitchens."  
   
"What would you know about hairstyling, with that rats nest on your head?" Draco joked with a smirk.  
"At least I don't preen in front of a mirror like a girl." Harry shot back.  
"Well, at least one in this relationship has to look good." the blond claimed, tossing his head in a dramatic gesture.  
   
Harry just laughed. It was nice to know that they were still the same boys they had always been. Hermione would frown at them trading insults like this, but to him it felt normal. And it wasn't said with malice, like in their earlier years. Now it was just fun, joking around with each other, riling each other up a bit. It was just their dynamic and he doubted that would ever change.  
   
Finally satisfied with his appearance, Draco grabbed his broom and followed Harry out of the changing room. Still laughing and joking with each other, they made their way up to the castle, completely oblivious to the ginger haired girl watching them from the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments please?


	15. Too close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely comments. They really motivated me and I got another chapter done. But I think it might be a bit boring. What do you think?

Draco was watching Harry worriedly. The younger boy sat on his chair like frozen. He hadn't moved a muscle in almost fifteen minutes now. He was just sitting there, staring at the sleeping form of Ron on the bed. Draco had the sneaking suspicion that he was blaming himself for what had happened. Of course it was a stupid notion, but he knew how Harry's mind worked.   
   
His gaze slid over to Hermione, who was sitting at Ron's bedside, holding his hand and looking close to tears again. Maybe this would finally give her the much needed push to claim the red-head as hers. Then at least something good would come of it. He avoided looking directly at Ron. Seeing the youngest Weasley boy so still was just too unsettling.  
   
It should have been a day full of joy for Ron. His seventeenth birthday. He'd been crestfallen enough when he'd learned that the promised Hogsmeade trip had been cancelled due to safety issues. No wonder really, after what had happened to Katie Bell. 

To make up for it, they had planned to throw him a big surprise party. Luna had gotten up before sunrise and snuck up to the room of requirement to make sure that it wouldn't be blocked by other people. It would have been Harry's job to get Ron to the room without giving away the surprise. But it never came to that.  
   
Draco and Blaise had been tasked with getting food. They had been on their way back from the kitchens, after asking the elves to deliver all of Ron's favourite food, when they had run into a weeping Hermione. The sight alone had made Draco's blood run cold. Because Hermione was tough and it took a lot to make her tear up. It had gotten even worse when she had thrown herself into his arms and told them among sobs and hiccups that Ron had been poisoned.  
   
After that everything became a bit of a blur. He remembered running to the hospital wing with Hermione, while Blaise went to inform Millicent and Luna. When they had tried to enter the infirmary they had been stopped by McGonagall, who'd sternly ordered them to wait outside. Draco also remembered sitting in a very uncomfortable chair, his left arm slung around a still weepy Hermione, his right hand clutched by Harry, who told him what had happened. 

Ron had accidentally swallowed a love potion meant for him. Harry had taken him to Slughorn for an antidote and once that had been administered, Slughorn had offered them a drink. Which had obviously been poisoned. Thanks to Draco telling him about bezoars in Potions a while ago, Harry had been able to save Ron just in time.  
   
Ron's parents had shown up while they waited. They had spent a few minutes in the infirmary and then left with McGonagall. After that they had finally been allowed to enter the infirmary, where Ron was now sleeping peacefully. Madam Pomfrey had assured them that he would make a full recovery. But he would have to remain in the infirmary for a week or so. The Weasley twins had joined them a few minutes ago. They had been in Hogsmeade, intending to give Ron his birthday present there.  
   
“So the poison was in the drink?” Fred asked after a while, breaking the tense silence.   
“Yes.” Harry murmured, startled out of his trance at last. “Slughorn poured it out...”  
“Would he have been able to slip something into the glass without you seeing?”

The dark-haired boy shrugged. “Probably. But why would Slughorn want to poison Ron?”  
“What if he mixed the glasses? What if he meant to get you?” George mused.  
“Why would Slughorn want to poison Harry?” Draco chimed in. Because that made absolutely no sense.

“He could be a Death Eater.” Fred suggested.  
“Or under the Imperius Curse.” his twin added.  
“Or he could be innocent.” Draco pointed out. “The poison could have been in the bottle.”

“Who'd want to kill Slughorn?”  
“Well, Dumbledore reckons Voldemort wanted him on his side.” Harry remembered. “Maybe he wants him out of the way now.”

He looked at Draco, who understood immediately what he was hinting at. That memory Dumbledore wanted. Information about the Horcrux. It would be reason enough for Voldemort to want Slughorn dead. But the blond also had another idea.

“You said Slughorn had been planning to give the bottle to someone else for Christmas.” he reminded the younger boy. “What if the poison was actually meant for the other person?”

“Then the poisoner didn't know Slughorn very well.” Hermione spoke up for the first time in what felt like hours. “There was a good chance he'd keep it for himself.” she pointed out, visibly pulling herself together. 

Ron mumbled something, which sounded suspiciously like her name and they all held their breath. But he settled down again without waking and only seconds later their musings were interrupted by the return of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who thanked Harry profusely for saving their son (and really half their family by now). Harry squirmed in obvious discomfort and seemed almost relieved when Madam Pomfrey complained about too many visitors and banned everyone who wasn't related to Ron from the infirmary.  
   
Hermione decided to let the others know that Ron would be okay, shooting a meaningful look at Draco. She seemed to have recovered for now and was obviously more worried about Harry for the moment. Draco nodded, to let her know that he would take care of his boyfriend and then watched her take off.   
   
"It was Nott, wasn't it? The poison?" Harry asked harshly once she was out of earshot.  
"I think so." the blond agreed. "But we can't prove it."  
"I hate this!" the Gryffindor raged. "We have to stop him, before…" he didn't dare to finish his sentence. He didn't need to. The unspoken "before someone dies" hung in the air between them.  
   
"We will. We'll think of something." Draco promised. "But right now I'm actually more worried about you. Have you eaten anything at all today?"  
Harry looked surprised by the question, which was answer enough.  
"Okay, come on. Let's visit the kitchens."  
"I'm not hungry." Harry protested weakly.  
   
"It doesn't help Ron if you starve yourself." the Slytherin pointed out, flinching slightly when the words brought back memories of what Harry had told him about his childhood. But the younger boy didn't seem to care right now. He was staring mutely ahead.  
"It wasn't your fault. None of it." Draco assured quietly.  
   
"How…?"  
"It's obvious that you're blaming yourself. I know you. And no matter what stupid reasoning you've got going in that thick head of yours, it wasn't your fault. It was an accident. You couldn't have prevented it, but you saved Ron's life. Never forget that."  
   
"It was so close. If you hadn't told me about bezoars. Or if there hadn't been one in the room…" 

Draco pulled Harry into his arms and the younger boy crumbled, starting to cry.   
"Hey, it's okay. Those what ifs don't matter. Because I did and there was." the blond reminded. "That's the wonderful thing about hanging out with Harry Potter, I found. You've got more luck than brains."  
   
Harry gave a watery chuckle and held on even tighter. Draco stroked his back and waited patiently until he had calmed down. When the younger boy finally pulled back, he gently wiped the tears away. 

"Thank you." Harry whispered.  
"Any time. And now let's get something to eat, okay?"  
   
This time the dark-haired boy agreed and they made their way to the kitchens, luckily without encountering anyone. The house elves were happy to see them and quickly produced a tray of sandwiches and some tea for the two boys, as well as a generous helping of treacle tart for Harry.   
He looked a lot better and was even smiling when they left again. 

But his good mood was short lived. Because on their way to the library, where they expected to find Hermione, they ran into Cormac McLaggen. Since Ron wouldn't be able to make it to the next Quidditch match, Harry had no choice but to agree to let him play Keeper.  
   
Of course they did find Hermione in the library. Along with Millicent, Blaise, Luna and Neville. It really said something that their odd little group didn't receive curious stares any more. Lately Neville seemed to appear wherever Millicent was, so he had finally been let in on the secret of Voldemort's Horcrux. Draco couldn't really remember when exactly Luna had started joining them. She had just been there one day, like she had always been part of the group. Draco didn't mind. He was actually starting to like the weird girl.  
   
"The Weasleys have left again. But Mrs. Weasley stopped by to tell us that Ron regained consciousness for a bit. We can visit him tomorrow." Hermione let them know.   
"That's good. So he'll be okay?" Harry checked.  
"Yes, he will. Madam Pomfrey said there will be no side effects." the Gryffindor girl assured. She looked visibly relieved.  
   
"His mother also asked us to thank you again." Neville chimed in.  
Harry looked uncomfortable, shuffling his feet. Draco glared at Neville. 

Thankfully Luna saved the situation by announcing that there was a Wrackspurt in the room and starting to make waving motions with her arms. Everyone smiled and the conversation turned to safer topics. Draco couldn't help but wonder if she'd done it on purpose. You never knew with Luna.


	16. Apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely Reviews. Hope you'll like the new chapter and maybe I can surprise you...

The whole group paid a visit to Ron first thing the next morning, right after breakfast. The red-head was awake and looked a lot better, even if he was still slightly pale. He seemed almost amused by the fuss everyone was making and very happy about Hermione's attention. They kept him company until Madam Pomfrey threw them out, insisting that Ron needed rest, but grudgingly allowing them to visit again later, in smaller groups.  
   
Draco and Millicent dropped in again shortly after lunch, but had to leave after about 20 minutes so they wouldn't be late for Quidditch practice. Although Draco wouldn't have minded being late today. It had been raining ever since breakfast. Large clouds obstructed the sky and wind was rattling at the windows. He didn't fancy flying in this weather, but Urquhardt only laughed at his suggestion to cancel the practice and reminded Draco that Quidditch was played in any weather.  
   
Facing the inevitable, the blond finally grabbed his broom and followed Millicent out to the pitch. At least he would be meeting Harry at the room of requirement after practice. Maybe his boyfriend could warm him up again. The thought made him blush and Millie laughed at him, wanting to know what he was thinking of.  
   
"Come on, share your dirty thoughts with me." she needled.  
"No way. You're way too interested in my love-life as it is."  
"So you were thinking dirty thoughts." she crowed triumphantly.  
Draco only shook his head with a smile.  
   
That smile was quickly wiped off his face once he stepped onto the pitch. The weather had gotten even worse. The steady downpour of cold water had him drenched within minutes and the wind had picked up as well, making it hard to keep his broom steady. Millicent didn't seem to care. She flew around the pitch with a bright grin, whacking bludgers left and right. Draco decided to stay well away from her.   
   
Urquhardt was ruthless, despite complaints from various players. He took them through the drills again and again, completely unconcerned by the wind and heavy rain. Draco wondered what he'd have to pay Millie to make her knock their team captain off his broom. Too much, he decided in the end. She'd probably want a detailed report of his intimate encounters with Harry. She'd been needling him for information for a while now.  
   
After what felt like hours, Urquhardt finally relented and called them down. They huddled together in the changing rooms, where he insisted on going over strategies, before finally allowing his sodden and very grumpy team to escape to the showers. Draco contemplated skipping the shower, since he was already late for meeting Harry, but then couldn't resist the temptation of warm and clean water. And once in the shower he couldn't help but linger for a bit, making him last out of the changing room as always.  
   
He finally rushed back to the castle and cursed Urquhart as he ran up the stairs. Harry had shown him quite a few short cuts and hidden passageways during the last couple of months, but he should have been at the room of requirement 20 minutes ago. Hopefully the younger boy wouldn't be too upset with him. He knew what Quidditch practices were like after all.  
   
Draco took a left turn and slipped into a dark, deserted corridor, but stopped short when suddenly a slim figure appeared from behind the old tapestry, blocking his path. He immediately reached for his wand, never taking his eyes off the girl. 

Ginny held up her hands in a placating gesture. “I mean no harm.”   
The blond snorted. “You'll forgive me for finding that hard to believe. Since it looks like you've been lying in wait here.”

She had the decency to look sheepish. “Yes, I was waiting here for you to show up. I overheard you and Harry earlier, making plans to meet at the room of requirement. But I'm really not here to hurt you. I only want to talk. I promise.”   
   
“And what makes you think I want to talk to you?” He was pleased to note that she had trouble looking him in the eyes.   
“I want to apologize.”   
Draco raised an eyebrow. “You already did.” he reminded. 

Ginny started fidgeting, still not looking directly at him. “Because I had to. Not because I really meant it.” she admitted, provoking yet another snort. Big surprise there.  
“But this time I mean it. Honestly. I know that what I did was wrong and … and horrible. And I'm really sorry you got hurt because of me.”   
The blond had heard enough. “Yeah, so glad we got that cleared up.” he sneered, pushing past her.   
   
But Ginny grabbed his sleeve. “Please wait. Let me explain.” she begged, looking nearly frantic.   
Draco shook her off, but stayed where he was.  
   
Ginny started wringing her hands nervously. “I'm in love with Harry since I was eleven.” she confessed. “I know it's stupid, but I just.. I kept hoping that when I got older he would finally notice me and … start loving me back.” 

Draco opened his mouth to mock her for her delusions, but surprisingly enough no words would come. He shook his head and motioned for her to continue.   
   
“I wasn't worried about that thing with Cho last year. I knew it wouldn't last. Because I know Harry pretty well. They were just too different. And when Hermione suggested that I start dating other boys to make him jealous, I thought it was a good plan. Well, it was a good plan, I suppose. It could have worked. But then you came along.”  
   
Finally she looked at Draco. “I've known since Harry's birthday. The way he looked at you... For five years I've been waiting for him to look at me like that.” she averted her gaze again, sniffling slightly. “I tried to tell myself that I'd only imagined it. Or that it wouldn't last. That it was only a fling, like that thing with Cho. But he sided with you. All the time. He ignored me and he yelled at me when I was mean to you. And then... I saw you. In this very corridor.” her voice broke and Draco felt himself blushing. He knew immediately what she was hinting at. Harry and he had been snogging in this corridor on the day before he got attacked.  
   
Ginny sounded close to tears when she finally went on: “It broke my heart. Seeing you together. I ran back to the common room and Dean saw that I was upset...” The dam broke and the first tears started sliding down her cheeks. Draco felt almost sorry for her. “I'd love to pretend I didn't know what would happen. What they would do. But I know Dean. And back in that moment... I wanted them to hurt you. I wanted you to pay … for taking Harry away from me.”  
   
“But you never had him.” the blond pointed out softly. 

She was sobbing in earnest now. “I know. He never saw more in me than his best friend's little sister. I know that now. I tried to tell myself that you could never really love him. That it was just a ploy and that you would hurt him. But I … I've been watching you together these last few days." she confessed, sobbing even harder. "It made me realize how wrong I was. I was so stupid. Jealous and stupid. I destroyed everything. Dean's still mad at me. Everyone's mad at me for telling lies and losing Gryffindor so many points and... and Harry hates me!”  
   
“I don't hate you.” 

The quiet words made Ginny and Draco turn in surprise. Neither of them had heard Harry approach.   
“Don't get me wrong, I'm still really pissed at you. Probably will be for a while. But I don't hate you, Ginny.” he assured, which only made her cry harder.   
Both boys cringed and Harry felt the need to explain himself: “I never saw you like that. I guess I do love you, but not in that way. You're the little sister I never had.”  
   
Ginny sniffled, but finally got her sobbing under control. “I know. And I'll learn to accept it and move on. I just hope you can forgive me. Both of you. Because I really am sorry.” she assured again, wiping her eyes. 

Harry and Draco shared a look. Finally the blond rolled his eyes with a sigh. “I still don't trust you. And I probably never will. But I accept your apology.” he drawled. It was worth it for the smile Harry gave him. Ginny thanked him and finally left, still sniffling and wiping her eyes.  
   
“Do you think she's going to try something again?” Draco asked doubtfully, following Harry to the room of requirement.   
“No, I don't think she will. She seemed genuinely sorry and I think she learned her lesson.” the dark-haired boy answered. They reached their destination and entered a cosy little sitting room, with comfortable armchairs, a couch and a blazing fireplace. Draco was very grateful that the room wasn't blocked today, as it had been so often lately.  
   
“If I'd known that Ginny was hoping I'd fall in love with her, I would have talked to her sooner. I just thought she had gotten over that stupid crush she had on me.” Harry muttered. 

“At least she knows now. But what really scares me is how many people realize what's going on between us. She knew at your birthday. Back then there wasn't even really anything going on. Millie saw right through me at the start of term. And so did Luna Lovegood, of all people.” the older boy grumbled.  
   
“Well Luna is a lot cleverer than most people give her credit for. She's weird, yes, but really good at seeing through people. Just like Hermione. I was more shocked that Ron noticed. He's so clueless usually.”

“Guess we've been a little more obvious than we thought.” Draco mused.   
“Looks like it. But at least our friends are very accepting. Hermione keeps telling me that she's happy for me and asking about our relationship.”  
   
“Of course she does. Millie and her have some interesting theories going.” Draco said with a shudder. While Ron had been attached at the lips to Lavender, Hermione had started spending more and more time with Millicent. When she wasn't busy with her many classes, of course. He really liked both girls, but they could also be a pain in the ass sometimes. And this weird fascination for his relationship with Harry was pretty scary.  
   
“I don't want to hear them. And as long as they keep it to themselves, I don't really mind them knowing.” Harry mused.   
“I don't mind either. They're trustworthy. Just like Luna and even Ron. I'm only concerned what will happen if someone like Pansy Parkinson should find out.” Draco admitted.   
“I guess we'll deal with it if it should come to that. No reason to start fretting now.” With that decided they spent the rest of their time until curfew snogging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to everyone who wanted to see Ginny doing something evil again. I felt that her apologizing would be more of a surprise. Did it surprise you?


	17. Accident-prone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. I'm really sorry for the long wait. I've had a few really bad weeks. First, one of my cats was sick (but she's alright now, thank god!).  
> Then my sister played around on my Computer and suddenly it wasn't working any more! (Though she claims she didn't do anything. Yeah, right.) So I had to take it to the technician and wait a couple of days until I got it back and then there were still some problems and ... yeah. Lots of trouble.  
> And to make matters even worse, I've been suffering a bad case of writers block. I feel like my head is bursting with ideas, but I can't seem to get them down on paper. It's very frustrating. But I hope it's getting better now, even though today's chapter is a short one. Still hope you enjoy it.

Draco hurried along the corridor, cursing himself for getting caught up in a discussion with Urquhardt. Now he was late. His friends would already be down by the Quidditch pitch, to watch Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff. 

He rounded the corner and nearly collided with Nott and two sulky looking girls. The other boy sneered at him.  
“Running to the pitch to cheer for the Chosen Idiot, Malfoy?”  
One of the girls gave an unwilling giggle and promptly blushed when Draco glanced at her. 

“And where are you going, Nott?”  
“None of your business, blood-traitor.” the brunet boy spat. “And now hurry up. Run down to the pitch and go grovel like the pathetic loser you are. Potter must already be missing his little puppy.”  
With a nasty smile, Nott walked down the corridor, the two girls trotting behind him.

Draco felt torn. On one hand he really wanted to follow the other boy and find out what he was up to. But Nott had back-up, even if it was just two fourth-year girls by the looks of it, while Draco was alone. And the match would start in a few minutes. 

With a defeated sigh he turned away and made his way down to the Quidditch pitch. Harry had been fretting all week, worried that his reserve keeper McLaggen would fuck it up. The guy was a pain in the ass, always undermining Harry's authority and mouthing back. Draco wanted to be there to offer moral support. It was the least he could do.

When he reached the stands he found that Hermione had saved him a seat in the Gryffindor block. She looked angry for some reason.

“Where the hell have you been?” she greeted him.  
“We've been worried!” Millicent added.  
“Sorry, got held up by Urquhardt.” the blond muttered. 

It wasn't really a lie and he knew that the girls would only get more upset with him when they found out that he'd run into Nott. They both agreed that it would be better to let Dumbledore handle the junior Death Eater.

Lucky for him the match started, preventing them from questioning him further, since the cheers and boos from the crowd would have drowned out their voices. It looked like Harry had gotten into yet another fight with McLaggen. Draco could see him shouting something at the keeper. His posture was stiff and there was an angry look on his face.

The team captains shook hands and then both teams kicked up off the ground, rising into the air. Draco admired how Harry looked on his broom, until the commentary started and he looked over at the commentator's podium in obvious surprise. 

“Whose brilliant idea was it to let Luna commentate?” he wondered.  
Beside Luna, McGonagall was obviously regretting that choice as well, if the looks she was giving the girl were any indication.

“I'm not sure. She didn't even tell us she would be commentating.” Neville muttered, sounding slightly hurt. Like they'd have to tell each other everything, just because they were part of the same weird group of friends now.

In Draco's opinion, Luna's commentary was pretty much the only good thing about the match. She seemed completely uninterested in what was going on on the pitch and instead pointed out interestingly shaped clouds to the crowd. McGonagall was fast losing patience with her, barking the current score into her megaphone every now and then with a dark look, to the amusement of the crowd.

Draco however didn't really pay attention to them. He was completely focused on Harry, who was quickly losing his temper, since McLaggen was too busy criticising the other team members to pay proper attention to his goal hoops. Gryffindor was still in the lead, but only by thirty points, thanks to that idiot. Hermione, Millicent and Neville were complaining loudly beside him. Blaise was busy flirting with Parvati.

And then McLaggen actually left his post to pull the bat away from one of the beaters and try to show him how to use it. Once Harry noticed this, he sped towards them, shouting at his stupid keeper. McLaggen ignored him, took a swipe at the bludger … and hit Harry instead.

To Draco it felt like it all happened in slow motion. He saw the bat connect with Harry's head, saw blood splattering and the dark-haired boy fall off the broom and tumble towards the ground at alarming speed, only to be caught by a spell from McGonagall at the last second. All around him people were jumping up, screaming in shock and fear.

He stood like frozen, staring at Harry's still form on the ground, unable to breathe.   
“Draco! Come on!”   
Hermione's shrill voice shook him out of his trance. She grabbed his arm and pulled him along. He stumbled after her blindly and didn't even notice Neville and Blaise following them. Millicent was in front, pushing people aside roughly.

It was mayhem. Everyone was shouting over each other, some younger kids were even crying. People had gotten up and were running around in panic or trying to get a closer look. By the time Hermione and Draco finally made it down to the field, Harry had already been taken to the hospital wing. The blond saw a smear of red on the grass where his boyfriend had fallen and felt nausea washing over him. His vision was tunnelling and he was distinctly aware that he was swaying on the spot.

A rough shake made him look up at Millicent.  
“Keep it together! Harry needs you!” she hissed at him.  
Draco nodded, taking deep breath to calm himself. She was right. Harry needed him. He couldn't collapse right now. He nodded and allowed Hermione to drag him towards the castle.

They headed to the hospital wing, only to find the doors closing in their faces and Madam Pomfrey shouting at them to wait outside. So Draco found himself once again sitting in one of those uncomfortable waiting chairs, with Hermione by his side. Only this time she was doing her best to comfort him, not the other way around.

After what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more than a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey finally came out.  
“Nothing to worry about.” she assured them. “He only had a cracked skull. I mended it at once, but he's still unconscious and I'm keeping him overnight. He shouldn't overexert himself. That also means no visitors.”

“But he'll be fine?” Hermione checked.  
“Of course he will. Merlin knows that boy had worse...” Pomfrey muttered, bustling back into her office.

Draco's shoulders sagged in relief. He really wanted to go in there and see Harry for himself, but he knew that Madam Pomfrey would throw him out and probably also report him to Snape if he tried. So he'd have to take her word that Harry would be fine and wait until tomorrow. But there was something else he could take care of right now.

“Draco, where are you going?” Hermione asked suspiciously.  
“She said no visitors. So if you don't mind, I think I'd like to lie down for a while to recover from the shock.”  
“I'll come with you.” Millicent offered.

He nodded curtly and allowed her to tag along, while Blaise decided to look for Parvati, in case she needed someone to comfort her. Hermione and Neville headed back to Gryffindor tower to assure everyone that Harry wasn't too badly hurt.

The two Slytherins had only rounded the corner, when Millicent stopped and turned to look at the blond.  
“Okay, I'm not even sure if Hermione bought that stupid excuse, but I sure as hell didn't. So what are you really planning?”  
“Want to hazard a guess?”

She gave him an exasperated look and sighed softly. “Make sure you don't get caught. And if anyone notices that you're not lying down like you said, I'm telling them you went up to the owlery to send a message to Harry's godfather.”  
“Thanks, Millie. You're the best.”


	18. the terrifying truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter done. I think I may be getting over my writers block. Of course comments might help me get over it faster (hint hint).

Harry and Ron broke off their whispered conversation when the bulky, heavily bandaged figure in the bed across the room gave another pitiful moan, which caused Madam Pomfrey to bustle over. They both quickly laid down and pretended to be asleep. The matron only briefly glanced their way, before heading to the only other occupied bed in the hospital wing.

“Really, Mr. McLaggen... It can't hurt that bad any more. That pain relieving potion I gave you must already be kicking in. And the sleeping draught should start working any minute now. Or do you need a higher dose?”

McLaggen muttered something they didn't understand, but it was obviously a yes, because Madam Pomfrey went to fetch him another potion.

“There. Now be a good boy and go to sleep. It'll be a lot better in the morning, I promise. Though I'd really love to know how you managed to get yourself covered in undiluted Bubotuber pus from head to toe.” She muttered that last part to herself, walking back to her office.

As soon as the door had shut behind her, Harry and Ron sat up again to continue their conversation, glancing over at McLaggen every now and then.

“I'd love to know who managed to get him covered in that stuff, too.” Harry mused, full of guilty pleasure over the other boy's predicament. Well, he had every right to feel vindictive, right? After that oaf had nearly knocked his head in and lost them the match in the process.

“I'm pretty sure I know who did.” Ron claimed.  
“You think the rest of the team got him?” Harry guessed.  
“That's one possibility. And I wouldn't put it past Ginny. But I was actually thinking of your boyfriend.”  
“You think Draco did that?”

“Yes, Ron. You really think I did that?” asked a disembodied voice from between their beds, making both boys jump in surprise. Seconds later Draco appeared seemingly out of nowhere. 

“How...?” Harry stuttered, before he spied the invisibility cloak the blond was now draping over his arm. Harry's invisibility cloak.  
“Neville was kind enough to get this for me. He knew that I'd want to check on you and thought you wouldn't mind me borrowing it.”  
“Of course I don't mind.” the younger boy assured with a grin.

“So, I'm right, aren't I? You did that.” Ron cut in, pointing at McLaggen.  
“Hmm?” Draco blushed lightly and Harry's grin widened.   
“How did you manage that?” he wanted to know.

“Well, it wasn't that difficult.” the blond said with a shrug, giving up all pretence. “I know where professor Sprout keeps the stuff. It's on a shelf in greenhouse three, which is – quite stupidly - never locked. So it was really easy to sneak in. And I found this very useful spell in one of the books from your godfather's library during Christmas holidays. It allows you to put any kind of substance into some sort of bubble. After that I only had to float it over his head and make it explode.”

“Neat. Fred and George would be really impressed.” Ron complimented.   
“I'm impressed as well.” Harry assured and Draco's blush darkened. They stared at each other, smiling slightly.

“You're not going to start snogging now, are you?” Ron asked warily.  
“When have we ever snogged in front of you?” the Slytherin wanted to know.  
“Christmas at the Burrow. Ring any bells?”

“That was because Fred had conjured a mistletoe over our heads. It's tradition. So he practically forced us.” Harry chimed in.  
“Whereas we had to watch you snogging Lavender all the time.” Draco reminded.  
“Exactly. So if we did snog in front of you, it would only be payback.”

Deciding that Harry was right and that Ron really deserved some payback, Draco smirked at his boyfriend, before leaning in to press a chaste kiss to his lips. The red-head's exaggerated gagging noises made both of them laugh.

***

Harry and Ron were released from the hospital wing the next day. McLaggen had to stay a few more days. He still resembled a mummy, with the bandages wrapped all around his body. Harry felt that it served him right and he obviously wasn't the only one. Even the teachers did nothing to find out who'd attacked him and instead decided to believe he'd been clumsy and poured the stuff all over himself.

Just a day later Harry had another private lesson with Dumbledore. He was actually eager to tell the headmaster what Remus had found out about Horcruxes, so he had a good feeling when he started for Dumbledore's office. 

When he left it again a while later, his good mood had evaporated. He hurried to the library, where Draco, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Millicent, Blaise and Neville were waiting for him. They really were an odd group, he had to admit. But he was glad for his odd group of friends nonetheless. And somehow being able to share his thoughts with all of them made it easier for him. Even if he had to lie to Dumbledore about it.

“So, how did it go?” Ron wanted to know, as soon as Harry had sat down at their table.  
“Not good. He was disappointed that I still haven't managed to get that memory from Slughorn.”  
“But what about all the stuff Remus found out?”

Harry sighed. “He already knew all that.” he told them. “That book Remus mentioned ... Dumbledore has a copy in his office. It used to be in the restricted section, until he took it out and hid it. He reckons that Voldemort must have found it before he did.”

He didn't mention that the old headmaster had been rather cross with him, once he'd learned that Harry had told Remus about the Horcruxes. He'd completely forgotten Dumbledore's warning from their first lesson, to confide in no-one but Ron and Hermione. Back then he'd promised to tell no-one but them, even if he had talked it through with Draco shortly after. 

He understood that Dumbledore was worried and that it was safer to keep these things secret. But he also knew that he needed help when he wanted to defeat Voldemort. Draco was his boyfriend (even if Dumbledore didn't know that). Sirius was his godfather and a member of the Order, just like Remus. Harry trusted them. He also trusted Luna, Millicent and Neville. And yes, even Blaise was trustworthy, once you realized that his arrogance was mostly an act. So why couldn't he confide in them?

“But if he already knows all about Horcruxes, then why does he need that memory?” Millicent wondered, shaking him out of his thoughts. “He can't think that Slughorn knows more than what was in the book.”

“I have no idea. He wouldn't tell me.” Harry had to admit, still a little angry about Dumbledore's secrecy. “But he said our next meeting would have to wait until after I'd gotten the memory from Slughorn.”

“Did he at least show you anything new?” Hermione decided to change the subject.

“Yeah, he did. We viewed two memories. One was his own. Voldemort wanted to work here at Hogwarts. He applied for the DADA job, but Dumbledore turned him down. He reckons that Voldemort jinxed the position, because after that there was never a teacher who made it longer than a year.”

“That would explain a lot.” the Gryffindor girl mused. “And the other memory?”

“After Dumbledore had turned him down, Voldemort worked for Borgin and Burkes. He got stuff for them. There was this rich old witch he was visiting about something. She showed him her greatest treasures - the locket of Slytherin and the cup of Hufflepuff. She was found dead two days later and those things were gone. So Dumbledore thinks that Voldemort killed her and stole them.”

“I get why he wanted the locket, being Slytherin's heir and all that. But why Hufflepuff's cup?” Draco wondered.  
“Those are objects of great value. People would pay a lot for them.” Blaise mused.  
“But he wasn't after money. He never tried to sell them.” Harry pointed out. 

“Maybe to him they were a sign of power or something.” Neville said quietly, still a little shy about speaking up.  
“Or he felt that they connected him to Hogwarts.” Luna added.

“Maybe.” Harry agreed thoughtfully. “Dumbledore thinks the was obsessed with Hogwarts and its founders.” he added with a shrug. “What was really creepy about those memories was how he looked. I mean, it was nothing compared to what he looks like now. He was still Tom Riddle, still looked human and all. But... I don't know. I guess I just thought he'd only changed into … well, that when they resurrected him. But he had already changed a bit back then. And it seemed to get worse.”

“Worse how?” Ron asked warily.  
“At first he just looked … sort of sick. And I think his eyes flashed red once. But in the other memory his skin was so white and his features were sort of … blurry. I don't know. It was just weird.”

He didn't even know why that bothered him so much. But something about Voldemort's appearance had just been creepy. Like the evil maniac he'd gotten used to had tried to pose as a normal human and almost succeeded.

“I still don't understand why Dumbledore wants that memory.” Millicent broke the silence that had fallen over the group.  
“Yes. What could Slughorn know that's so important? I mean, we already found out all about his Horcrux. And Harry destroyed it. So what more is there to know?” Neville reasoned.

They all pondered this quietly for a moment, until Draco suddenly gasped. The others turned to look at him questioningly.

“What if he made more?” the blond whispered.  
“You mean... more than one Horcrux?” Harry checked.  
“Yes. The book only speaks of making one. But.. what if he asked Slughorn how to make more?”

It was a scary thought and one that Harry didn't even want to consider. But Hermione nodded thoughtfully.  
“It would make sense. And it would explain why his appearance had changed. According to the book the mutilation of one's soul has side-effects and one of them is dehumanising. Maybe Dumbledore suspects this and needs the memory to confirm his suspicions.”

“That means I really need to get that memory. There's no way around it.” Harry muttered.  
“Looks like it.” Ron agreed.

***

In the end it was surprisingly easy to get the memory. Ron had the idea that Harry should just use the bottle of Felix Felicis he had won in their first lesson with Slughorn. And Harry didn't even need the whole bottle. Just a small sip was enough.

He went to Dumbledore as soon as he had the memory and they viewed it together. What they saw confirmed Draco's theory and Harry's worst fears – Voldemort had indeed made more than just the one Horcrux. According to Dumbledore he'd made six. Harry felt sick.

At least he had destroyed the first Horcrux and the old headmaster had destroyed the next one shortly before the start of term. But that meant there were still four left.

“Dumbledore thinks that he used the cup of Hufflepuff and Slytherin's locket for his next two Horcruxes. That he stole them for that purpose. And his last Horcrux is his snake. Which means there's only one left we know nothing about yet. Probably something of Ravenclaw.” Harry told the others on the day after his meeting with the headmaster. They had met up in the library during a free period.

“And does he have any idea where the other Horcruxes are?” Draco wanted to know.  
“Not really. He thinks he's close to finding another one, though. And he said he'll take me with him when he goes to get it.”

The other Gryffindors were very impressed with those news. Draco on the other hand was mostly worried about his boyfriend and couldn't understand why Dumbledore couldn't get the bloody Horcrux on his own. Or take someone from the Order with him, if he needed help. Why did it always have to be Harry?

“Because I'm the Chosen One, apparently.” the younger boy joked.  
“That's bullshit and you know it. You're only sixteen! You shouldn't have to fight those battles for them.” Draco insisted.

“Voldemort made me his target when he murdered my parents and tried to kill me. He's been after me since first year and I'm sick and tired of his attacks. I'm going to do everything I can to get rid of him for good. And I proved that I'm capable of fighting him when I was a lot younger than sixteen!” Harry snapped.

“I never said you're not capable of fighting him. I only said you shouldn't have to!” the blond snapped back.  
“But I do!”  
“No, you don't! Why can't you let some other members from the Order handle this? Why does it always have to be you who's running right into danger?”  
“Because he murdered my parents and needs to be stopped!”  
“But not by you!”

The two boys glared at each other and the others at the table shifted awkwardly. Both boys had quite a temper and it looked like the fact that they were a couple now didn't stop them from taking said temper out on each other. No-one wanted to get in the middle of that particular fight.

“Well... as much fun as it is to listen to your little lovers quarrel, I have other things to do.” Blaise finally spoke up again, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the group. “I'll see you later.” 

“Wait, I'm coming with you.” Draco grumbled, casting one last, dark look at Harry, before following Blaise out of the library.

“He really cares about you...” Millicent started, but Harry cut her off.  
“He's got a funny way of showing it!”  
The Slytherin girl shook her head with a sigh and dropped the subject.


	19. a  stupid reckless Gryffindor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter this time. Still hope you like it. And I've already got started on the next one.

Harry was in a bad mood for the rest of the day and went to bed early. His mood however didn't improve over the next two days, when Draco continued to give him the cold shoulder. Hermione kept nagging him to talk to the blond, but he didn't see why he had to be the one to make the first move.

So Harry kept moping, dragging himself through his classes and stubbornly avoiding his boyfriend, even though he missed the blond prat. Once lessons were done on day two, the Gryffindor fled to his room and used the two-way-mirror to contact Sirius and Remus. He finally told them about the memory and his talk with Dumbledore, before complaining about Draco. To his surprise and great annoyance, Sirius actually sided with the blond. 

“I understand your need to do something. To actively fight Voldemort. But I can understand Draco as well. He's scared that you'll get hurt. We're scared for you as well.” the animagus admitted and Remus nodded in agreement.

“I can take care of myself. And I'll be with Dumbledore.” Harry protested.  
“Even Dumbledore is not omnipotent.” the werewolf replied sagely.  
“And we know that you can take care of yourself. You proved it often enough.” Sirius added.

“Then why don't you trust me to prove it again?”  
“It's not that, prongslet. It really isn't.” his godfather assured.  
“We're scared for you, because we love you.” Remus explained. “We don't want you to get hurt.”  
“But...”

“Remember two years ago, when you wanted me to stay in hiding, instead of coming back to Hogwarts?” Sirius asked.

Of course Harry remembered that. His godfather hadn't listened. He never did.  
“Yes. I was scared they'd catch you and send you back to Azkaban.”  
“Exactly. And now try to imagine that Draco was about to do something dangerous. Like going to confront his father. How would that make you feel?”

“Okay, I think I'm starting to see what you mean.” Harry finally admitted.  
“I thought you would. Now go talk to the boy.” Sirius urged.  
“I will. Thanks Sirius. And you too, Remus.”  
“That's what we're here for.” they both assured.

Harry felt a lot better after the talk with the two men. And he knew that his godfather was right. He needed to talk to Draco. He hated fighting with his friends. And fighting with his boyfriend was even worse. They had done enough of that in the past. Of course they still bickered and argued pretty often. They would never change so much that they could agree on everything. But this was different. It was their first, real fight since they'd gotten together.

There was still some time before dinner, so he pulled out the Marauder's Map and searched for the tiny dot labelled Draco Malfoy. 

***

Meanwhile Draco was sitting in the library with Luna. He'd just wanted some peace and quiet and he couldn't get that in the Slytherin common room. As weird as it was, he hated fighting with Harry now that they were together, but he also wasn't ready to back down and apologize. And to top it off, Millicent and Blaise had started giving him helpful relationship advice (like he'd take advice from them!). 

So he'd fled to the library, hoping they wouldn't follow him there. They hadn't. But Luna had appeared out of nowhere only minutes later and taken a seat next to him. He didn't mind. He liked Luna. She was surprisingly wise when she wasn't sprouting her weird conspiracy theories.

“You feel bad, because you fought with Harry.” she said out of nowhere.  
Draco just sighed. So much for peace and quiet. On the other hand, the Ravenclaw might actually be the most helpful of his friends. At least in this situation.  
“You should talk to him again.” Luna suggested.

“And what am I supposed to tell him? He's not going to listen.”   
“Tell him why you don't want him to go.” she said, like it was the most obvious thing.  
“But I...”

“Harry always thinks that he has to do anything by himself. He thinks it's his job to save us all, you know? That's just who he is. He's very brave. But sometimes he's not very smart. You have to tell him that you're worried.”

Draco smiled a little at her description of his boyfriend. Brave but not very smart? Yes, that about summed it up.

“And you think that would help? You think he'll let Dumbledore go alone, if I ask him to?”  
“He probably would. But I don't think you should ask him to.” Luna said matter-of-factly.  
“But...”  
“It's what he does, Draco. What he feels he needs to do. It would not be fair if you asked him to change that. He wouldn't understand.”

“No, I suppose he wouldn't.” the Slytherin had to admit. “He would hate me for it, right?”  
“He would never hate you. But he wouldn't be pleased.”  
“So I'm just supposed to let him run right into danger?”  
“It's what he does. You know that.” she reminded.

And yes, he did know that. He'd always known that about Harry. Brave and reckless till the end. And even if he could change his boyfriend, would he really want to? Wasn't that recklessness part of Harry's personality? Part of what had made him fall for the younger boy in the first place?

“You know what to do.” Luna said and smiled that serene smile of hers. “And now I'll leave you boys to talk. Beware of the Nargles.” she cautioned, sweeping out of the library like she was walking on clouds.

Draco hadn't even noticed that his boyfriend had entered the library. Once Harry spied him, he hesitantly came over and sat down in Luna's vacated chair.

“Can we talk?”  
“Sure.”

“I'm sorry for snapping at you.” the Gryffindor apologized.  
Draco sighed softly.  
“I'm sorry, too. I never meant to imply that you can't take care of yourself. I know you can.”

“But you still don't want me to go with Dumbledore?” Harry asked.  
“No, I really don't.”  
“But I have to go with him. You know that, don't you? You understand?”

Draco bit his lip, debating with himself. All his life he'd been taught not to show weakness. To act indifferent even towards those closest to him. But everything was different when it came to Harry. He knew how much his boyfriend valued honesty. So maybe it was time to take Luna's advice and voice his fears.

“Yes, I do. But I … I just worry about you. I'm afraid of losing you.” he admitted.  
Harry's gaze softened. “You're not going to lose me, Draco. I'll be safe with Dumbledore.”

Draco couldn't share Harry's firm believe in the old headmaster. Even Dumbledore had his flaws and wasn't invincible. But he knew that arguing about this with Harry was pointless. The Gryffindor idolized the old man way too much and he didn't want to aggravate Harry when they were just in the process of making up.

“I know that I can't ask you to stay behind. That it wouldn't be fair of me to make you. Just … please promise me you'll be careful.”  
“I'll be careful. Promise.”  
“Even if it goes against your reckless Gryffindor nature?” the blond joked weakly.  
“I'm not always reckless, you know?”  
Draco just snorted and decided not to comment on that.

“But we're okay, right? Even if I go with Dumbledore?” Harry checked.  
“Yes, we're okay. I knew what I was getting myself into, dating you. And I wouldn't want to change you. Well, maybe a little. But Luna just reminded me that it's all part of dating a stupid reckless Gryffindor.”

“Luna called me a stupid reckless Gryffindor?”  
“She might have used different words.”

Harry grinned and after making sure that they were alone, leaned over to drop a quick kiss on his boyfriend's lips, glad that they had made up so quickly.


	20. another piece of the puzzle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done. Hope you'll like it. As always, comments would be very much appreciated.

Draco felt a lot better after clearing things up with Harry. They went down to the great hall together and parted ways just inside. By now their joined arrival didn't cause a commotion any more. People had gotten used to seeing them together, even though a few still gave the Slytherin suspicious looks when they thought he didn't notice.

“Did you finally make up with Harry?” Millicent asked as soon as he'd taken a seat next to her.  
“Yes, I did.”  
“Good. I don't like you guys fighting.”  
“I don't like it either.” Draco admitted.

Blaise just rolled his eyes and winked at some girl passing by. Which in turn caused Draco and Millicent to share a look and roll their eyes.

The meal went by without incident. A little while later Draco saw Harry being dragged off by Ron, so he buried his hopes of a little alone time with his boyfriend and went back to the Slytherin common room with Millicent to help her with her DADA essay.

He left her in the common room and went to fetch his bag from his room. But when he turned around again he suddenly found the exit blocked by Goyle. The larger boy had been giving him weird looks for a few days now, so Draco suspected that Nott had put him up to something. With a sigh he reached for his wand.

“What do you want, Goyle?”  
“I... umm...” the other boy stammered.  
“What? Did Nott tell you to hex me?”  
“No! He... he doesn't know I'm here.”   
“Then why are you here?” the blond wanted to know.

Goyle shuffled his feet and looked around the room, like the answer was to be found somewhere there. He seemed nervous.

“My father... he told me to stay away from you. He said... you're a blood traitor.”  
“I guessed as much.” Draco said with a shrug. “And I suppose he told you to follow Nott.”  
Goyle nodded.  
“Why are you here?” the blond asked again, losing patience.

“I just... I sort of... miss you.”  
“What? You miss me? But...” 

That didn't make any sense. He'd never been particularly nice to Goyle. He'd mostly ordered the other boy around. Okay, he sometimes helped him with homework and generally made sure that he stayed out of trouble. But they had never really been friends or anything. Crabbe and Goyle had followed him around, because their fathers had told them to. And he had suffered their presence, because it had given him some power.

“You never made us do nasty things.” Goyle said, like that explained everything.  
And in a way it did. Greg was a follower. He was used to being ordered around.  
“What does Nott make you do?”

Goyle hesitated, looking around nervously. Draco cast a quick locking and silencing charm at the door.  
“No one can hear what you're telling me now.” he assured.  
The tall boy nodded in relief, but it still took him some time to start talking.

“He … he makes us stand guard.”  
“Where?”  
“I don't really know? It's on the … seventh floor, I think. He walks up and down and then a door appears and he goes in.”

Draco's eyes widened in surprise. The room of requirement. Of course. It all made sense. Nott was the reason the room was blocked so often lately.

“What does he do in there?” he wanted to know.  
“I don't know. He never tells. We have to wait outside and … and he makes us...” Goyle broke off, shuffled closer and then whispered: “He makes us... turn into girls!”

The blond looked at him aghast.   
“He makes you turn into... Wait. When I saw Nott before the Quidditch match … those two girls with him.. that was you and Crabbe?”  
The tall boy nodded with a pout.

“I don't like being a girl. It feels all wrong. But he gets angry and he yells at us. He's angry all the time. When he comes out of the door again he's always really angry. He calls us awful names. And yesterday he hit me. But father says I have to do what he wants.”

Draco actually felt bad for the other boy. He knew that Greg had grown up with the same prejudices he had. He knew that the tall boy idolized his father and that he'd never be strong enough to go against his wishes.

“I don't think I can help you, Greg. I mean, I could talk to some people. Try to get you protection. But you would have to stand up to your father. You would have to choose the other side.” he tried to explain.

“I have to do what you did?” Goyle guessed.  
“Pretty much, yes.”  
“But... I'm not like you, Draco.”

And he was right in so many ways.  
“I know, Greg.” Draco said with a sigh. “Just... try to stay out of trouble as much as you can, okay? I think that's the only thing you can do.”  
Goyle nodded sadly. “Thanks, Draco.” he muttered. Then he turned around and left the room.

Draco just stood there, staring at the door for a moment longer. Then he pulled the magical coin out of his pocket, sent a message to Harry and hurried back to the common room. Millie was sitting on one of the couches, bent over her parchment.

“What took you so long?”   
“I had a very enlightening conversation with Goyle.” the blond explained.  
“What?”  
“I'll explain later. We need to meet the others. Come on.”

Without waiting for her reply he hurried out of the common room and towards the library, knowing that she would follow him. They took a seat at their usual table near the back, ignoring the glares Madam Pince sent their way. They still had almost an hour before the library officially closed, so she had no reason to act pissed off.

The two Slytherins didn't have to wait long until Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Blaise (who had obviously been lurking close to Gryffindor tower in the hope of catching Parvati) showed up. They were closely followed by Luna, who had the surprising talent to show up whenever she was needed. Draco was starting to suspect she might have some seeing powers.

Harry sat down at the table and cast a quick silencing charm around them. “Okay, what's up? Your message only said that we need to come here right now.”

“Goyle just cornered me in our room...” Draco started to explain.  
Only to be interrupted by his boyfriend. “What? Did he hurt you? Have you told a teacher?”  
“He didn't hurt me, Harry. He just wanted to talk.”

“He's never been all that talkative.” Blaise pointed out.  
“He can be. When it suits him.” the blond corrected.  
“And what did he want?” Hermione chimed in.  
“He complained about Nott. And he told me what Nott is up to. At least as much as he knows.” Draco said, before recounting the conversation he'd had with Goyle.

“And you believe him?” Hermione checked once he'd ended.  
“Yes, I do. I know him and quite frankly, he's too stupid to lie.”  
“But... what did he mean about Nott making him turn into a girl?” Ron wondered.

“Polyjuice. There was a whole cauldron full of it in our first Potions lesson, remember? It would've been easy for him to steal some of it.” 

“Draco is right.” Hermione agreed. “And it's a good plan. People would get suspicious if they saw Crabbe and Goyle lurking around in an empty corridor all the time. But no-one is going to think twice about different girls being there.”

“So Nott's doing something in the room of requirement. Most likely something illegal. But we have no idea what exactly. That means we need to catch him at it.” Harry mused.

“And how are you planning on doing that?” the Gryffindor girl wanted to know.  
He shrugged. “We'll ask the room to turn into whatever Nott asks for.” he said, like it was obvious.  
“Somehow I don't think it's going to be that easy.” Hermione muttered.


	21. Narcissa's clue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter finished. And this time I've changed things quite a bit from how they're going in the book(s). Please tell me what you think. Did I make it too easy for them?

Of course Hermione was right. Wasn't she always? Over the course of the next few days, Harry and Draco did everything they could to find out what Nott was up to, sneaking up to the seventh floor corridor whenever they could spare a few minutes. Sometimes they would find the corridor empty and sometimes they would find a little girl there. Now that they knew that those girls were either Crabbe or Goyle, it was pretty easy to get rid of them.

Once they had scared Crabbe or Goyle off, they took turns walking up and down in front of the wall and tried every combination they could think of to get into the room.

_I need to see what Nott is doing in there. Show me the room you always become for Nott. Show me what Theodore Nott is doing..._ Nothing ever worked. The two boys were getting increasingly frustrated.

The others were no help at all. They all agreed that it would be better to concentrate on the Horcruxes (or homework and studying on Hermione's part and Quidditch on Millicent and Ron's part) and leave it to Dumbledore to deal with Nott.

But Harry didn't want to give up so quickly and neither did Draco. After some discussion they agreed to give it one last try on the weekend. So when Hermione, Ron and Blaise made their way to Hogsmeade for extra Apparition lessons (since they would be old enough to take the test in April), the two boys went up to the seventh floor.

A first-year girl with blonde pigtails was standing guard. When she noticed them approaching she squealed and ran away. A quick look at the Marauder's Map confirmed her to be Goyle. Harry and Draco shared a quick grin and then started taking turns trying to get the door to appear. Again to no avail.

“Open already, damn it!” Harry yelled, kicking the wall in frustration.  
“Stop that. Violence won't get us any further.” Draco chided, pulling him away.

“He's right about that, you know?” a dreamy voice chimed in.  
Both boys turned around to find Luna standing behind them.  
“Have you come to help us?” Harry asked hopefully.  
“No, I haven't. Dumbledore sent me. He wants to see you both in his office.”

The two boys shared a quick look.  
“Why does he want to see us?” Draco asked warily.  
“He didn't say. But I guess it's got something to do with your godfather's visit. Or maybe he wants to talk about the Nargles. They're getting a little out of hand lately, have you noticed?”

“Sirius is here?” Harry said in surprise.  
“With professor Lupin, yes. They're in Dumbledore's office.” Luna confirmed.  
“Okay, we'll better go then. Thanks, Luna.”

They hurried to the headmaster's office, both wondering what was going on.  
“Maybe he found the next Horcrux and Sirius wants to accompany you.” Draco guessed.  
“Yeah, maybe.” the younger boy agreed, remembering his talk with Sirius and Remus. He wasn't sure how he felt about that prospect, though.

When they arrived at the entrance, Harry gave the password and the Gargoyle jumped aside. They stepped onto the moving staircase and went up, but stopped just outside of Dumbledore's office. Raised voices were heard from inside. It quickly became clear that Sirius was arguing with the old headmaster.

“I never said that! Stop twisting my words around!” the animagus growled.  
“I am doing no such thing.” Dumbledore said calmly.  
“Yes, you are. I never said that you should leave Harry behind. I know that he wants to come along when you get that blasted thing and I wouldn't want to stop him.”

“Sirius merely wanted to ask you to keep Harry out of danger.” Remus cut in quietly.  
“I am sure that getting the Horcrux won't be all that dangerous.” Dumbledore assured.

“Good. Take him along then.” Sirius agreed. “Show him how to find and destroy those bloody things. But remember that he's only sixteen. He's still a kid. You can't expect him to fight Voldemort on his own, just because of some stupid prophecy.”

“Especially a prophecy made by Sybil Trelawney.” Remus added wryly.  
“Voldemort puts a lot of stock in that prophecy.” the headmaster reminded.  
“We've been over that a dozen times.” the animagus nearly whined.  
“Let Voldemort believe what he wants. We don't have to agree with him.” Remus added.

“We can continue this particular discussion another time.” Dumbledore decided suddenly. “Harry and Draco are waiting just outside the door.”

Both boys blushed lightly at being caught and Harry shook his head at himself. When was he ever going to learn that you couldn't eavesdrop on Dumbledore? They entered the office, greeting the adults sheepishly.

“Good to see you, prongslet.” Sirius said with a grin, giving Harry a quick hug, before turning to Draco. “And you too, little dragon.” The blond grimaced at the nickname and accepted his hug rather stiffly. Harry grinned at him. Remus just shook his head at his boyfriend's antics and gave the two boys a quick hug as well.

“Please, have a seat boys. You must be wondering why I asked you here today.” Dumbledore spoke up again.  
“Have you found the next Horcrux?” Harry asked.

Dumbledore hesitated for a second, glancing at Draco, before shaking his head. “Not precisely, though I think I'm close.” he answered, obviously resigned to the fact that the Slytherin had been let in on the secret. “I have good news nonetheless. But maybe your godfather should explain.”

Both boys turned to Sirius, who rolled his eyes at Dumbledore's dramatics.  
“We came to see Dumbledore, because Andromeda stopped by a few days ago. After receiving a message from your mum.”  
“Is mother alright?” Draco asked, immediately worried.  
“Yes, there's no reason to worry.” Remus hurried to assure. “The message was delivered by a house elf, so it couldn't be tracked or intercepted.”  
“She's clever. Got to hand her that.” Sirius took over again. “And as it turns out, she's been most helpful. Here, see for yourself.”

He pulled a letter out of his pocket and handed it to the blond. Harry leaned closer, so he could read it over his shoulder.

 

_Dear Andromeda,_

_first I want to thank you again for helping to protect my son. I am sure you know how much it means to me. I also thank you for offering me protection. I know you still cannot understand why I turned you down. But for the moment it is best for me to stay where I am._

_But now to the main reason I am writing you today. I had a most bizarre conversation with our dear sister a few days ago. While we surely both agree that this is nothing unusual, this one left me thinking._

_You see, she felt the need to taunt me about Lucius' failures. Especially the fact that he lost something that was very valuable to the Dark Lord a few years ago. She then told me that the Dark Lord should have given this valuable item to her instead, along with the other one, that is still in her possession. She claimed it would have been safer with her._

_I must admit that I don't know what exactly she was talking about. What I do know is that she keeps this item in her Gringotts vault. So I felt it would be prudent to switch her key for a fake one and send the real one to you. Maybe you would like to have a look at her vault? Or maybe our cousin does?Anything that is valuable to the Dark Lord might also be valuable to those who oppose him, wouldn't you agree?_

_Please give my regards to our cousin and if you see Draco, please tell him that I love him and that I am very proud of him._

_Your sister_   
_Narcissa_

  
Draco slowly lowered the letter, blinking a few times.  
“She stole Bellatrix' key.” he muttered, disbelief colouring his voice.  
“And switched it for a fake one.” Sirius added.  
“She... she's mad.” the blond whispered.  
“No. She's brave.” Harry argued. “And like Sirius said, she switched it. No-one is going to notice, right?”

“Well, the goblins at Gringotts would surely notice.” Dumbledore chimed in.  
Harry, Sirius and Remus glared at him. Draco went pale.  
“Yes, but she has no reason to visit Gringotts.” the werewolf hurried to assure. “Even in times like these, it's a risk for her to stroll around Diagon Alley. She won't take that risk. Not yet.”

“What's more important is what kind of treasure was hidden in her vault.” the old headmaster went on, ignoring Draco's obvious turmoil. With a smile he pulled a dented and battered looking cup from a drawer and placed it on his desk.

Harry stared at the cup in surprise. “Is that...?”  
“The cup of Helga Hufflepuff.” Remus confirmed.  
“And it was indeed housing a Horcrux.” Dumbledore let them know.  
“Until we bashed it in with the sword of Gryffindor.” Sirius added with a grin.

“That... that's great!” the dark-haired boy said with a smile.  
“Yep. Another Horcrux down. Only three more to go and then we can end Voldemort for good.” Sirius summed it up.

Those were definitely good news. Harry didn't know what to say.   
“Why the sword of Gryffindor?” Draco asked, trying not to think of his mother, who might be in a lot of danger if Bellatrix ever found out.

“Well, a Horcrux is nearly impossible to destroy.” Dumbledore started. “One of the few things that can be used is Basilisk venom.”  
“Like when I used the fang to stab the diary.” Harry remembered.

“Exactly. And since goblin-made items only imbibe what makes them stronger, the sword imbibed the Basilisk venom, when you used it to kill the beast. Therefore it can now be used to destroy a Horcrux.” the old headmaster confirmed.

“So you just... went to Gringotts and got it from Bellatrix' vault?” the dark-haired boy asked sceptically.  
“Well, it wasn't quite that easy.” Sirius had to admit.   
“Wait... did you have anything to do with the dragon that escaped from Gringotts?”

There had been a large article in the Daily Prophet yesterday. The goblins claimed that the beast had broken its chains, while assuring the wizarding public that there was no need to worry about the safety of their money.

“Yes, that might have been us. Do you boys have some time? It's certainly an interesting story.”  
Harry and Draco shared a quick look and then sat down in the waiting chairs. “Sure we have.”


	22. ...and that's how we robbed Gringotts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the encouraging comments.  
> This chapter has given me so much trouble. The first version was too much like the book. The next one was too boring (at least my beta said so). The next one not plausible enough (again my beta!). So I re-wrote parts of it again and this is the outcome. Hope you'll like it.

“It's a horrible idea.” Remus said, tugging at his fake beard.  
“So you've said.” Sirius answered, adjusting his glasses.  
“No, I mean it's a really horrible idea. Something's bound to go wrong.”  
“No-one is forcing you to come.” he animagus reminded.  
Remus snorted. “Like I'd really let you go without me.”  
“Then stop whining.”

The werewolf sighed and chose not to point out that he wasn't whining. He was only being reasonable. Not that Sirius had any idea what that even meant. He'd never really outgrown his teenage rebel phase. Remus only feared that the long time stuck at Grimmauld Place had made his boyfriend even more reckless.

True, Sirius was able to leave the house again and move around freely, ever since Peter had been captured and his name cleared. But with Order business and taking care of Harry there had been no adventures for him. He was missing their Marauder days and therefore jumping at the chance to do something dangerous and illegal.

“Maybe we should wait a few more days. Come up with a better plan.” the werewolf tried to reason.  
“Stop worrying, Moony. The plan is fine.”

Sirius was grinning. A little maniacally even. Remus worries grew. But before he could say anything else, another voice interrupted them.

“Tell me how I look. I asked mum, but she threw a fit.”

The werewolf turned toward the voice and shuddered. Of course he'd known about Tonks' abilities as a Metamorphmagus. He was used to her hair changing colour frequently and to her party tricks, where she'd change the shape of her nose. But he hadn't thought she'd really be able to turn into someone else. Not with such convincing results.

“Scary.” he muttered.  
“Perfect.” Sirius corrected, stalking closer. “Now all you have to do is act like you're barking mad and no-one is going to notice that anythting's off.”

Tonks cackled maniacally and Remus felt goosebumps rising on his skin. If he didn't know better he'd really believe it was Bellatrix Lestrange standing there.

“Yep, that should do. Let's go.” Sirius decided.  
“Wait! Have we really thought this through?” the werewolf tried one last time.  
His boyfriend gave him a look like he thought Remus was being very dense.  
“Of course we have.”  
“Yeah, we got it all planned out.” Tonks agreed, obviously just as keen to run head first into danger. Must be a Black thing, Remus mused silently.

“No, we really haven't.” he argued. “If I remember correctly, Sirius' idea was: Get Tonks to pose as Bellatrix, disguise ourselves, go to Gringotts and we'll see from there. That's not a plan.”

“Sure it is. Back in our Hogwarts days James and I often set out with less.”  
“And ended up in detention.” Remus reminded.

Sirius shrugged off his concerns. “Stop worrying, Moony. It'll be fine. Tonks is going to wear the hood until we're inside the bank. Once there, no-one is going to give us any trouble. The goblins won't care that she's supposedly an escaped convict. And we've got the key. That's all we need.”

“And you really believe they won't get suspicious about two foreign wizards escorting Bellatrix? Or see through our costumes?”

They had used Muggle techniques to disguise themselves, hoping that those wouldn't be detected. Remus had dyed his hair grey and was sporting a long beard, which hid half of his face. Sirius was wearing a blond wig, a couple of fake piercings, large, dark-rimmed glasses and a pair of ripped jeans, which he'd found at the back of his wardrobe. He'd bragged for a whole of ten minutes about the fact that they still fit.

“They don't concern themselves with wizarding business. Even Bill said so.” the animagus reminded. “And we look fine. Well, at least I do.” He flashed his boyfriend another maniacal grin.

In the end Remus did the only thing he could. He gave in. There was just no arguing with Sirius once he'd set his mind on something. The only thing he could do was try to keep him out of trouble. Just like old times. 

So he followed Sirius and Tonks to the floo, with Andromeda's words ringing in his head: “You're the level-headed one, Remus." she had said. "The smart one. Make sure you all come back in one piece.”   
Not for the first time he wondered what the hell he'd gotten himself into.

***

They took the floo to the Leaky Cauldron and passed into Diagon Alley. The street was mostly deserted this early in the morning and the few people hurrying past didn't even glance their way. It was eerie how much this place had changed during the last year. 

The trio reached Gringotts without any trouble. Remus ignored Sirius's self-satisfied grin as they went up the steps leading into the bank and instead reached out to steady Tonks when she stumbled. The goblins guarding the entrance gave them suspicious looks, but that wasn't unexpected. Goblins were always suspicious.

Once inside the entrance hall the three waited until an elderly couple had disappeared through a side door, before approaching the desk. An old goblin peered down at them with barely hidden disdain.   
“Yes?”

Tonks pushed the hood back a little, so he could get a good look at her face.  
“I wish to enter my vault.” she demanded imperiously.  
The goblin didn't even blink at seeing an escaped convict.   
“Do you have the key, Madame Lestrange?”   
“Of course I do. Who do you take me for?!” she snapped, slamming the key down on the counter.

Remus wondered if Tonks had gotten her mother to coach her, because as far as he could tell, her impersonation of Bellatrix was flawless. It was a little scary, if he was honest. He held his breath while the goblin took his time examining the key and let it out in a soft whoosh when the tiny creature finally nodded.

“Bogrod, get the clankers and take Madame Lestrange to her vault.”  
Another goblin came around the corner, carrying a heavy looking sack.  
“Follow me.”

Tonks strutted after him like she owned the place, while the two men followed closely behind. Remus couldn't really believe that they'd made it this far. He kept waiting for an alarm to go off, for Aurors to show up or the goblins to attack them. But nothing happened. They left the main hall through a side door and got into a waiting carriage.

The carriage sped through the winding tunnels at alarming speed, taking hairpin turns, spiralling ever downward. For once the knot in Remus' stomach was not due to the wild ride. Finally they screeched to a halt in front of a small tunnel, dimly lit by flickering torches. 

“This way.” the goblin muttered, hopping off the carriage and entering the tunnel.

Tonks managed to get tangled up in her robes and fell face-first out of the carriage. But Remus, having anticipated this (he'd spent enough time around the girl by now), caught her before she hit the ground. She gave him a lopsided grin, which looked extremely scary on Bellatrix' face and marched after the goblin. With a sigh the werewolf followed.

Remus unease grew with each step, but still the expected ambush didn't come. At least not in any form expected. When they rounded the corner however, they were suddenly faced with a dragon. It was blocking access to the deepest vaults. His scales were pale, his wings folded close to his body and his eyes milky pink. He seemed at least half-blind. There were heavy cuffs around his rear legs, chaining him to the floor with thick chains.

Without pause Bogrod pulled a metal instrument from his bag and started making horrible noise with it. The dragon recoiled, trembling in fear. When they passed him, Remus saw scars made by vicious slashes across his face. They reminded him of his own scars and he felt sorry for the poor beast. Then he caught Sirius looking at the dragon speculatively.

“Don't even think about it, Padfoot!” he hissed.  
“About what?”  
“About whatever stupid idea is going on in that head of yours. This is a secret mission, remember? Keep it low key.”  
The animagus pouted and muttered: “Fine.”

Meanwhile the goblin had reached the vault and used Bellatrix' key to open it. They could see a cave-like opening crammed with coins and goblets, armour, skins of strange creatures, potions in jewelled flasks and even a skull wearing a crown.

Tonks stumbled inside and knocked down a goblet, jumping away when it started to sizzle and multiply.

“Madame had asked for Gemino and Flagrate curses to be placed on her vault.” the goblin let them know, giving her a suspicious look.

Remus and Sirius held their breaths, but Tonks recovered quickly.  
“Do you think I don't remember that, you imbecile?!” she screeched. “I thought you would have taken them off, before allowing me to step inside. I clearly need to teach you how to do your job properly!”

The goblin looked at her evenly.  
“Does Madame wish for me to remove the curses?”  
“What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I do!”

The little creature didn't answer. He simply muttered something in his own, strange language.   
“They are removed.”  
“Finally! You will wait outside. You!” she pointed at Remus: “Guard him. And you...” she turned to Sirius, “follow me.”

The animagus followed her into the vault and they started hunting through the heaps of treasure.   
“What a mess!” Tonks complained, tossing aside empty vials and gaudy jewellery, accidentally knocking over things and stumbling over others.

Sirius shook his head with a sigh. It really was a mess and his cousin's clumsiness wasn't helping. Neither was the fact that they had no real idea of what they were even looking for. Slytherin's locket maybe, or the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. Or maybe something of Ravenclaw's. Those hints weren't much to go by. But luck seemed to be on their side today, because he finally spied a cup with a badger engraved on it. 

“There! That must be it.” he whispered excitedly, climbing over a small mound of coins to reach it. The cup looked exactly like the one Harry had described to him. The one he'd seen in that memory of Voldemort. And it felt … weird. He couldn't really describe it, but he had no doubt that dark magic was involved. They had found what they'd come for.

“Let's get out of here.” he urged, quickly pocketing the goblet. He stepped out of the vault to find the goblin eyeing him critically. Naturally he flashed the tiny creature a smile, which only seemed to make him more suspicious. And of course that was when everything went to hell, because while he wasn't paying attention, Tonks stumbled and crashed to the floor. Her control slipped and a lock of her hair turned pink.

For a second they all seemed frozen in place. The goblin was staring at Tonks, understanding dawning in his eyes. He opened his mouth, either to bellow for help or curse them. Sirius never found out which, because, as always, Moony was there to save his ass.

“Petrificus totalis!”

The goblin froze, keeled over and lay motionless. Somehow he still managed to glare at them, but at least he couldn't attack now. Unfortunately they had another problem. Only the goblins were able to navigate the carriages.

“How the hell are we going to get out now?” Remus asked.  
“I think I saw a couple of brooms in there.” Tonks piped up.  
“Good idea. Get them.” Sirius ordered. He knew that his boyfriend didn't do well on a broom, but it was their best bet.

The werewolf seemed to sense this as well, because he didn't argue. Instead he flicked his eyes to the goblin meaningfully, before asking: “Did you at least get what we came for?”  
Sirius caught on immediately. “No, it wasn't there. Waste of time.”  
“Shit. So all the trouble was for nothing?”  
“Looks like it.”

Hopefully Bogrod would believe that they really hadn't taken anything from the vault. If Voldemort and his cronies found out, this might end in even more of a disaster than it already had.

“Catch.” Tonks yelled, emerging from the vault with three brooms. She had fully turned back into herself now.  
The two men deftly caught the brooms she threw them and wasted no time mounting them.   
“Follow me.” Sirius ordered. His sense of direction had always been good and he was pretty sure he would be able to lead them out.

They soared over the head of the dragon when an idea struck him. Acting on instinct, as always, he shot a spell at the chains holding the poor beast down, severing them.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Remus yelled hysterically.  
“Distraction!” the animagus yelled back.

It took the dragon only seconds to realize that it was free. Once it did, the beast waisted no time and started clawing its way upward. Dust and debris rained down around them, so Sirius put on a burst of speed, the other two following his lead. They swept out of the tunnel just as it started to collapse and rose higher and higher. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he felt the mad urge to laugh. This was brilliant. He hadn't had this much excitement in ages.

All too soon they found themselves back in the stone passageway from where they had started. Sirius was sad to leave the brooms behind, while his boyfriend looked happy to get his feet back on the ground. Remus opened the door leading to the main hall, peeking out cautiously.

As it turned out, caution wasn't necessary, as luck was once again on their side. The dragon chose exactly that moment to break through the floor of the main hall. Wizards, witches and goblins alike screamed and ran for cover. No-one noticed the three of them dashing through the chaos and out through the front gate.

People out in the street stopped to stare as the dragon fought his way out through the front gate and launched itself into the air. It soared over Gringotts once, before taking off. Sirius had to restrain himself so he wouldn’t give in to the urge to shout. They had made it this far. They couldn't attract suspicion now. There were more people in the street by now and even though they all seemed focused on the escaped beast, it was better not to risk it.

So the trio hurried along the street and rounded the corner. They stopped beside a shop window a good distance away from Gringotts.

“We did it!” Tonks shouted, doing a little victory dance, which ended with her stumbling over her own feet and knocking into a passing witch. “Sorry!” The witch glared at her and hurried off.

“Somehow I can't believe that we made it out of that one.” Remus muttered.  
“Lighten up, Moony. That was bloody brilliant!”  
“Have I told you recently that you're completely mental?”  
“Once or twice.”

The werewolf shook his head with a rueful smile. Just like old times. He caught his boyfriend's eyes and they smiled at each other, brought back to their Marauder days, if only for a moment.

“You guys can snog, if you want. Unlike mum, I don't mind watching.”

And just like that the moment was broken. Sirius' barking laughter echoed through the street, making people stare at them.   
Remus sighed in defeat. “Let's head home.”

***

“And that's how we robbed Gringotts.” Sirius ended his tale, grinning at the two boys, who had listened with rapt attention. 

“I can't believe you made it out of there alive.” Draco said.  
“Neither can I. And I was there.” Remus agreed with a smile.  
“I never had any doubts.” Sirius claimed.

The blond believed him. His cousin was possibly even more reckless than Harry. And that was really saying something. He also seemed to have the same outrageous luck. Maybe it was a Gryffindor thing.

***

When they finally left the headmaster's office, Harry felt better than he had in days. Another Horcrux was destroyed and Dumbledore was close to finding the next one. And they had a weapon to destroy them handy, which was another thing he and the others had been wondering about. It felt like things were finally looking up.

Unfortunately Draco couldn't really share his positive way of thinking. Now that there was nothing distracting him any longer, the worry for his mother had returned. What if Bellatrix noticed her betrayal? What if his father found out? She was already in enough danger just staying at Malfoy Manor with her husband and a bunch of Death Eaters. But now that she had stolen the key from Bellatrix and by doing so helped the Order to steal from Voldemort himself, that danger had increased tenfold.

“Relax, Draco. She'll be okay.” Harry assured, noticing how quiet the blond had become.  
“You can't know that.” Draco argued.  
“No, I can't. But your mum is smart. And brave. She wouldn't have done what she did if she thought it could get her into trouble.”

“You can't know that either.”  
“She's a Slytherin.” the younger boy pointed out. “And I've spent enough time around Slytherins lately to be able to tell that you guys always plan ahead.”

The words made the blond smile. Mostly because they were true and he was quite proud of his boyfriend for figuring that out. But even that couldn't stop him from worrying.

“She doesn't always plan ahead. At least not well enough. Otherwise she wouldn't have ended up in St. Mungo's for helping me last summer.” And the worst part about that was that he felt responsible. His father wouldn't have beaten her up, if she hadn't smuggled some money to him.

“I think she didn't think that one through. She just acted. Because she loves you. And when you love someone, you do stupid things, without thinking about the consequences.”

“Makes sense.” Draco had to admit.  
“Of course it does.”  
“When did you get so bloody wise, Potter?”

It was said in jest, but the younger boy took the question quite seriously.  
“I think we've got Remus to thank for that. He's really good at explaining things. And he encourages me to think about stuff, you know?”  
“I know what you mean. And he's usually rather good at keeping your godfather controlled.”  
“Yeah. Unfortunately not always.”

Draco didn't need to ask what Harry was hinting at. He still had a hard time containing his blush sometimes when Sirius looked at him. And he sure as hell wouldn't forget the “Talk” the animagus had given him during the holidays any time soon.

“We should see if the others are back yet and tell them the good news.” he finally changed the topic.   
“Good idea. Let's try the library.” Harry suggested, glad that his boyfriend seemed to have gotten over his worry for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to dissappoint all of you who wanted to see Sirius riding the dragon. He did, in the first version, but somehow it just didn't fit.


	23. the Chosen One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done. And I'm quite happy with this one. What do you think? Please let me know.

Over the next few days Draco did his best to push his worry – for his mother as well as Harry – aside. All of his friends kept assuring him that Narcissa must have planned the theft of the key very carefully and that she was in no danger. After some persuasion from Remus, Dumbledore promised to make sure that Snape (who really was a spy for the Order, Draco was sure now, even if Harry still had his doubts about him) kept an eye on her. Just in case.

The old headmaster still hadn't found the next Horcrux, so at least there was no reason to worry about Harry's safety just yet. Of course that didn't mean that Draco was starting to relax, but it was at least one thing less he could lose sleep over. He really had enough on his mind right now.

There was the fact that they still had no idea what Nott was doing in the room of requirement for one thing. Draco could see that the other Slytherin was getting increasingly nervous. He kept sneaking out of the dorms at odd hours and judging by the dark circles beneath his eyes he wasn't getting much sleep. Whatever Voldemort had ordered him to do was eating away at him.

And then there was one of the things they had overheard in front of Dumbledore's office that day. Back then he hadn't given it much thought, too worried about his mother and too caught up in Sirius' tale. But later he'd remembered and now he just couldn't get the thought out of his head. So he decided to talk to Harry about it.

Since they barely got any time alone these days, the Potions classroom seemed like the best place. Slughorn liked to make them work in pairs and Draco and Harry had teamed up, like they often did lately. (Blaise loved to complain about having to work with a Hufflepuff. It amused Draco to no end.)

“Harry, what do you know about this prophecy?” the blond asked, after having cast a quick Muffliato, so they wouldn't be overheard.

The Gryffindor glanced at him with a wry smile. “Don't tell me you're starting to believe that crap the Prophet writes?”

“Of course not.” Draco huffed. “Stir clockwise, not counter-clockwise. When we were listening in front of Dumbledore's office the other day, Sirius and Remus talked about a prophecy, remember?”

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, halting in his movements. Draco took the spoon out of his hand and continued stirring. “You're right. I totally forgot about that, with all the other stuff they told us.”

“Don't sound so surprised. I'm nearly always right.” the Slytherin claimed, grabbing his boyfriend's arm when he tried to dump something into their cauldron. “And would you pay attention. We're not supposed to add the Shrivelfigg until the potion turns blue.”

“Oh, right. Sorry. You were distracting me.”  
“Sure I was.”  
“You started talking about a prophecy.” Harry reminded.  
“And you can't talk and work at the same time? It's called multi-tasking.”  
“Yeah, but I'm not Hermione. And you know that I suck at potions.”  
“Believe me, I know it all too well.”  
“Watch it, Malfoy.”

Draco grinned at the empty threat, but decided to change the subject nonetheless. As much fun as it still was to rile Harry up, he wanted to talk about something important here and it wouldn't do to start an argument. Not right now.

“So the prophecy ...”  
“Never heard of one. Aside from that shit the Prophet wrote.” Harry let him know.  
“Sirius didn't tell you anything about it?”  
“No, he didn't. I guess he didn't think it was important.”  
“Sounded to me like Dumbledore thinks differently.” the blond mused.

Their potion finally turned blue, so he added the Shrivelfigg and handed the spoon back to Harry, instructing him to stir counter-clockwise this time.

“Didn't Remus say Trelawney made that prophecy?” the Gryffindor asked suddenly.  
“Yes, you're right. And it sounded like it's got something to do with you and … Voldemort.”  
“Hmmm, guess I'll have to ask Sirius.”  
“You do that. Tell me what he says.” Draco decided.

Harry snorted, but didn't say anything. He continued stirring, while the blond added the last ingredients. The potion fizzled and changed from light sky blue to deep indigo.

“Well done, Harry my boy!” Slughorn's voice boomed beside them, making both boys jump. “Not that I expected anything less. Brilliant at Potions, just like you're mother.”  
Harry blushed and Draco snorted. “Yeah, brilliant.”

***

Since pretty much everyone had done rather well that day, Slughorn decided to let them off early. Nott immediately ran off, closely followed by a pissed looking Pansy, while the four Ravenclaws hung back to talk to Slughorn. Ron was in deep discussion with Hermione and Blaise was having a heated argument with Ernie MacMillan.

Draco bit his lip as a sudden idea struck him. It was a ridiculous idea, really. And way too dangerous. On the other hand... Before he could think too much about what he was doing, he grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him behind a tapestry.

“Draco, what...?”  
“Shush.” the blond whispered, claiming his boyfriend's lips in a kiss. Harry immediately stopped arguing and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. 

The Slytherin had only planned on a quick snog, so they could rejoin the others before anyone noticed that they were missing. But Harry had other plans and when they finally peeked out behind the tapestry to make sure that the corridor was empty, a good ten minutes had gone by. 

“We should do that more often.” Harry said with a grin.  
“I like that thought. But we can't do it too often, or someone will notice.”  
“Right. Well, I'm going to contact Sirius now. Meet me later in the library?”  
“I'll be there.” Draco promised. “And now off with you.”

***

Harry still felt a grin tugging at his lips when he climbed up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. True, that whole thing with Voldemort and his Horcruxes was still a big mess. But aside from that, his life had taken a definite upturn lately. He'd been allowed to leave the Dursleys for good and move in with Sirius, who was now officially his guardian. He had his weird, rag-tag group of friends, he could always rely on. And he and Draco were steadily growing closer.

It was crazy, really. Only a year ago he'd considered the blond his enemy. And now he was falling a little more in love with the snarky Slytherin with each passing day.

Of course he hadn't told Draco that. Somehow he felt that it was still too early for that kind of confession. But for once he was actually sure of his own feelings. This was love. And he was also pretty sure that his feelings were returned. The fact that Draco was so open with him now, that he was growing bolder, was proof of that.

Harry finally reached the entrance of Gryffindor tower.  
“Someone's in a good mood.” the fat lady commented.  
Harry only smiled and gave her the password. Ignoring the people lounging about in the common room, he headed right for his dorm.

“Hey, where did you get off to?” Ron wanted to know. “When Mione and I turned around you were suddenly gone.”  
“Sorry, I hung back to discuss something with Draco.” Harry claimed.  
“Right.”  
“I did.”

“Hey, I don't care what you guys do. As long as I don't have to watch it.”  
The dark-haired boy chuckled, caught out. “You mean like I had to watch you and Lavender?”  
“Would you stop bringing that up already?”  
“Can't help it. I'm still traumatized.”  
Ron snorted. “You're spending too much time with your boyfriend. You're starting to sound like him.”

Harry suspected that there was some truth in the red-head's words. Draco's snark was starting to rub off on him. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud.

“For your information, we really were discussing something. And now I have to contact Sirius and ask him about it.”  
“Something I don't want to hear?” Ron asked carefully.  
“Nothing about sex, if that's what you're worried about.”

That was obviously what he'd been thinking, because the red-head sighed in relief and flopped down on Harry's bed. Harry chuckled and sat down next to him, after retrieving the two-way-mirror from his trunk. Sirius answered them with a bright grin.

“Is that a red-head in your bed, prongslet? I hope you're not cheating on Draco.”

Ron spluttered and flushed a deep scarlet and the animagus roared with laughter. Harry shook his head with a grin. At least his godfather didn't only make a habit of embarrassing him. He did it to everyone.

“I need to ask you something important.” the dark-haired boy said, once Ron had stopped stammering and Sirius had stopped laughing.  
“You know you can ask me anything, prongslet. I have no secrets.” the animagus assured.  
And no shame, Harry added mentally.

“When you and Remus were here a few days ago, we overheard your talk with Dumbledore.” Sirius chuckled, most likely because he knew they'd been eavesdropping, so Harry quickly went on: “You said something about a prophecy. By Trelawney.”

“Ahh, that.”  
“So there is a prophecy? The Prophet was right?”  
“Kind of. What they printed was based on rumours and greatly exaggerated, as it mostly is.”   
“And what do you know about it?”

“Only what Dumbledore told me and Remus, which probably wasn't everything.” Sirius let him know. “He claims that he was there when Trelawney made the prediction, so he's the only one who knows the correct wording. The prophecy was the only reason he hired her.”

“And it's about me?”

“Yes. About you and Voldemort. I can't remember all the details, but according to Dumbledore it said something about your birth and about you having powers and getting attacked by Voldemort, I think... I only remember the last part really well: One must kill the other, for neither can live, while the other survives. ”

Harry glanced over at Ron, who had gone very pale. He suspected that he didn't look much different. 

“So it means that I have to kill Voldemort or he'll kill me?”  
“Guess it does.” the animagus agreed. “But I wouldn't dwell too much on it if I were you. I mean, prophecies don't necessarily have to come true. And don't forget that it was Trelawney who predicted it.”

“It sounded like Dumbledore felt it was important.” Harry argued.  
“He only thinks so because Voldemort is obsessed with that prophecy. Despite the fact that he obviously only knows half of it. But I don't see why we should believe it, just because Voldemort does.”

Which sounded pretty logic. But there was one thing nagging at the dark-haired boy, even more than the prophecy itself.  
“Why didn't you tell me?”

Sirius sighed. “I wanted to, believe me. But Dumbledore forbid us from telling you anything. It was hard enough to get him to tell us about the prophecy in the first place. I had quite an argument with him, but he insisted that it was better if you didn't know yet. He claimed you were too young and already under too much pressure.”

Harry snorted. Too much pressure, yeah. If Draco was here, he'd surely remind him that Dumbledore was the one putting pressure on Harry. And the Gryffindor was starting to believe that his boyfriend had a point.

“In the end I agreed not to tell you anything, unless you specifically asked me about it.” Sirius spoke up again. There was a strange twinkle in his eyes and a smile tugging at his lips.

“You did it on purpose. You knew we were listening in, so you mentioned the prophecy, hoping I'd ask you about it.” Harry realized.  
“And you didn't disappoint, prongslet. A true Marauder.” the animagus said with a proud grin.  
Harry grinned back. “Thank you, Sirius.”  
“Any time. You have a right to know, after all. No matter what Dumbledore thinks.”

“You're right. I'm not sure what to think about it yet, but I'm glad I know now.” Harry murmured.  
“Like I said, I wouldn't read too much into it. Most prophecies are just a load of rubbish. But it's up to you. And if you want to talk about it, I'm always there. You know that, right?”

“I know, Padfoot. Thank you. But I've got to go now. I need to tell Draco about the prophecy. He was actually the one who remembered you talking about it.”  
“Sure thing, prongslet. Say hi to the little dragon from me. And don't worry. I won't tell him that I've seen you in bed with Ron.” Sirius promised with a wink, before the mirror went dark.

Harry glanced over at his best friend, not surprised to find Ron's face once again as red as his hair.   
“He doesn't really think we...?”  
“Of course not. He just likes to rile you up.” Harry assured.  
“It's not funny.”  
“It is a bit. And you make it way too easy for him.”

The red-head mumbled something under his breath and moved over to his own bed. Harry shook his head with a grin.  
“I'm meeting Draco in the library. See you at dinner, okay?”  
The only answer was another mumble, so he left the dorm and headed to the library.

***

Draco was already waiting at their usual table and greeted him with the words:  
“So? What did Sirius say?”

Madame Pince hissed at them from behind a bookshelf. Harry gave her an apologetic smile and quickly cast a silencing spell, before sitting down and telling the blond what he'd learned from his godfather. 

As expected, Draco was pissed at Dumbledore.  
“That's rich, keeping you in the dark, because he doesn't want to put more pressure on you. Like that's ever stopped him before.”  
“You think he had a different reason for not telling me?”

The Slytherin hesitated. “I think there's more he's not telling you.” he said finally.  
“More?”  
“It's just a feeling. He's really hard to read, you know? And somehow I don't really believe that whole nice old man act.” He looked at Harry and grimaced. “Sorry. I know you trust him.”

The younger boy smiled, but he couldn't deny that Draco's words bothered him. Mostly because they fuelled his own insecurities concerning the old headmaster.  
“Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't trust him.” 

It hurt to say this. He wanted to believe that Dumbledore really only wanted to protect him. That he really was the kind, old man he seemed to be and that Harry was somehow special to him. As a person and not just the boy-who-lived. 

But his doubts were growing. Too many things had happened in the past. Things he couldn't just push aside any longer. He knew that Sirius wasn't a big fan of Dumbledore. That they often didn't see eye to eye. And he could usually trust Sirius' judgement. Just like Draco's.

“I don't want you to stop trusting him, just because I have a bad feeling. You know him better than I do. And you have your reasons to trust him, don't you?”  
“I do. Or at least I thought I did. And it's not only that.” Harry assured.  
“What is it then, if not my bad influence?” the Slytherin joked.

The younger boy smiled weakly. “I can't really explain. It's just... looking back some things don't add up, you know? And he's keeping stuff from me. Important stuff. After Voldemort returned, he sent me back to my Muggle relatives and ordered everyone not to tell me anything. He didn't even want me to know about the Order. Sirius went against his orders when he told me. Maybe Dumbledore was really only trying to protect me. I guess he must have had his reasons. I don't know. But I just … I'm so sick of being kept in the dark.”

There was more that was bothering him, but he didn't know how to put it into words. And he felt like he'd already said too much. Like he was betraying Dumbledore by saying these things aloud. By voicing his doubts and fears.

“How about a compromise, then?” Draco suggested.  
“A compromise?”  
“Yes. You don't have to stop trusting him. Just don't trust him blindly. And if he does something that bothers you, you discuss it with me. Or with Sirius. Okay?”

The Gryffindor nodded slowly. “I think that's a good idea.”  
“Of course it is. It was my idea after all.” Draco bragged and Harry laughed, feeling lighter already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight Dumbledore bashing. I was never all that fond of him...


	24. Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter this time. And I've decided to change a scene from the book (again). Let me know how you like my version.

All was quiet for a few days. At least as quiet as it ever got at Hogwarts. Harry hadn't heard from Dumbledore again and Draco was glad for it. He already worried enough about his boyfriend. Their talk in the library kept repeating in his head. The things Harry had said made him thoughtful. He'd always believed that the Gryffindor trusted Dumbledore blindly. To hear that even he had his doubts about the old headmaster made Draco doubt him even more.

He was so preoccupied with the riddle of Dumbledore's odd behaviour, that he nearly forgot about Nott. Therefore he was very surprised when he ducked into a bathroom between classes one day and found the other boy bowed over the sink, in the middle of what looked like a nervous breakdown. His mind flashed back to the Great Hall that morning, where Katie Bell had returned, back in full health but with no recollection of what had happened to her.

He must have made some sound, because suddenly Nott whirled around, wand in hand and fired a hex at him without warning. Draco managed to duck at the last second.

“Spying on me, Malfoy?” the junior Death Eater taunted.  
“Don't overestimate yourself, Nott. You're hardly that interesting.” Draco shot back.

Nott's face contorted in rage and he fired a jelly-legs-jinx at him. But this time the blond was prepared and managed to get a shield up, before countering with a full body bind curse. The other boy ducked and suddenly they were duelling in earnest. 

Draco should have had the upper hand. He was the better dueller and everyone knew it. But Nott seemed nearly manic with rage and attacked viciously. Hexes and jinxes were flying back and forth, sometimes missing their target only by inches. A stray jinx hit the cistern, causing it to explode and flood the bathroom. Within seconds both boys were drenched, but neither of them even cared. They were solely focused on defeating the other.

Nott was losing ground, but he gave no indication of backing down. He'd never stand a chance against Draco in a fair fight. But they both knew that neither of them had the intention to play fair. The junior Death Eater was soon reverting to dark magic. Draco figured that it was only a matter of time until he started using Unforgivables. He had to end the fight quickly, before it came to that.

He faked a stumble and backed up towards the door. Just like predicted Nott followed on his heels. Without pausing Draco fired off three hexes in quick succession. The first two were only meant to distract, while the third one shattered the mirror right next to Nott. He had to duck aside to avoid getting hit by the flying shards, which gave the blond all the opening he needed.

“Expelliarmus!”

Nott's wand was ripped out of his hand and clattered to the floor somewhere beside Draco. But even that didn't stop the other boy. With a cry of rage he tackled the blond, who was too shocked to react on time. They crashed into the door, which gave way beneath their combined weight and sent both boys tumbling through, right into the passing students out in the corridor.

People yelled and scattered before somehow ending up forming a circle around the two fighting Slytherins. Draco steadied himself with one hand on the wall and jumped out of the way when Nott lunged at him again. He had dropped his wand when his back had hit the door. Looking around quickly he saw it lying on the ground. But when he bent down to retrieve it, the other boy used his moment of distraction. He wrenched a pair of heavy brass scales away from a scared looking first year and took a swing at Draco's head, missing him by inches thanks to the blond's quick reflexes.

“Dirty blood-traitor!” Nott hissed, taking another swing.

But suddenly he was ripped off his feet and propelled into the air, where he hung upside down like a puppet. Immediately he started thrashing around wildly, screaming bloody murder, but he only managed to get tangled up in his robes. The surrounding students erupted into laughter, which only made him struggle more violently.

Draco picked up his wand and stumbled to his feet. He jumped in shock when someone grabbed his arm to steady him, but relaxed when he recognized Ron. 

“You okay, mate?” the red-head inquired.  
“Yeah, I'm fine. Did you...?” he pointed at Nott and Ron grinned.  
“Told you that Levicorpus-thing was funny.”

Before the Slytherin could respond to that, Snape swept onto the scene. The onlooking students shut up immediately. Some of them tried to sneak away. Others were suddenly very interested in the pattern on the floor. The Potions master took in Nott's predicament with a stony expression. He waved his wand and the boy dropped down to the ground in a heap. 

“What is the meaning of this?” Snape asked in a dangerously cold voice.  
“Malfoy and Nott were fighting in the bathroom, sir.” some Ravenclaw boy supplied helpfully.  
“He attacked me! I only defended myself.” Draco said quickly.  
“That's a lie! You were the one attacking me without warning.” Nott shot back.

Snape held up his hand and both fell silent.  
“I don't care who started it. 10 points from Slytherin for both of you, for inexcusable behaviour.” he decided, before ordering: “Mr. Nott, go to the hospital wing. You're bleeding.”

There was indeed a gash on his cheek, where a shard from the shattered mirror must have graced it. Nott struggled to his feet and trudged off, after shooting another dark look at Draco. Snape turned to look at the blond as well. “Mr. Malfoy, follow me.”

“But he only defended himself. I saw it!” Ron claimed heatedly.  
“I wasn't asking for your input, Weasley. Shouldn't you get to class?” Snape sneered at him.  
“It's okay, Ron.” Draco assured quickly, shooting the red-head a pointed look. While it was nice of Ron to try to help him, he didn't want to get the Gryffindor into trouble.

Ron grudgingly backed down and Draco hurried to follow Snape, who was marching towards the dungeons in quick strides. He ushered the blond into his office and shut the door behind them. Draco shuddered when his head of house shot a drying charm at him without warning. Great, now he'd have to dash into his room and fix his hair, before he could get to his next class. Which had most likely already started.

But he felt it best not to aggravate Snape even further, so he muttered a quick thanks.  
“Take a seat, Draco.”  
“I really only defended myself.” the blond insisted again, sitting down in an uncomfortable chair.

“I believe you.” Snape assured. “But that doesn't change the fact that you did something very foolish. You're aware of Mr. Nott's allegiance with the Dark Lord, are you not? You should not underestimate him.”

“He attacked me. What was I supposed to do?”  
“You should have been more careful. It appears that your … association with Potter and his friends has made you reckless.” the potions master muttered disdainfully.  
“Harry and the others have nothing to do with this. And I'm not reckless.” Draco grumbled. “I had no idea that Nott would be in that bathroom.”

“Be that as it may, I implore you to be careful, Draco. Mr. Nott is unpredictable right now. I've been trying to keep an eye on him, but he makes it rather difficult. Whatever task the Dark Lord has set him is taking a toll on him. And that makes him very dangerous.” Snape warned. 

“I'll be careful.” Draco promised.  
“That is all I ask. I would hate to have to tell your mother that something has happened to you.”  
“How is she?” the blond asked.  
“She is quite well. Do not fear for her. She is more resilient than people give her credit for. But now I believe you have a class to get to.”  
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”


	25. in the broom shed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks for all the lovely and encouraging comments. I finally got the next chapter done, but I had no idea what to call it. Still cursing myself for even starting with the chapter-titles. Next time I'll stick with numbers.

Of course Draco was late to Arithmancy and lost Slytherin another five points, despite his protest that he'd been held up by Snape. By the time he made it to the Great hall for lunch, Ron had obviously informed Harry, because the dark-haired boy was already waiting for him.

“Draco! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”  
Harry's obvious concern made people stop and stare at them. Draco scowled and pulled the younger boy aside, casting a silencing spell around them.  
“I'm fine. No need to worry.” he assured.

“Ron said Snape blamed you.”  
“Ron was wrong. Snape believed me that I only defended myself.”  
“But he took you to his office.” Harry insisted.  
“Yes, he did. He warned me to be careful around Nott.”  
“But he didn't punish you?”  
“No, he didn't. It's really okay, Harry.”

The younger boy finally seemed to believe him, though he looked far from happy.  
“I want to know all about what happened.” he demanded.  
“Later, okay? We're going to miss lunch.” the blond pointed out, already knowing that arguing with his boyfriend would be pointless.  
“Okay. When and where?”

“After lunch?” Draco suggested.  
“I've got Charms right after lunch. But I have a free period after that.”  
“I've got Herbology. How about after that?” Why did their time-tables have to be so full anyway?

“We've got Quidditch practice.” the younger boy murmured apologetically. “But you could come down to the pitch. We could talk after practice?”  
“Okay. I'll see you then.” Draco agreed and they finally headed into the hall.

During lunch the blond recounted the details of his duel with Nott to Millie and Blaise. Word of the fight had already gotten around and many people were whispering and casting him curious looks. Nott was once again suspiciously absent. Already back in the room of requirement, Draco suspected.

He listened half-heartedly to his friends, who agreed with Snape and told him to be careful. They had a free period right after lunch, which they spent in the library, doing homework, before Draco and Millicent headed off to double Herbology with the Ravenclaws. 

The blond was glad when lessons were done for the day and he could escape the stares and whispers for a moment. He went back to his dorm to put his school bag away and freshen up. Of course Millie was already waiting in the common room when he emerged and insisted on accompanying him, despite his protests that he didn't need a babysitter. Luckily he managed to shake her off when they ran into Neville in the entrance hall and she went all blushing virgin, as she always did in Longbottom's presence.

By the time he finally made it down to the Quidditch pitch, Harry was just wrapping up practice. While he tried to wrestle the bludgers back into their box, his team-mates made their way past Draco to the changing rooms.

“Did Snape give you trouble?” Ron inquired, stopping beside the blond.  
“Just a lecture. Nothing bad.”  
“Good. Well, I'd love to hear all the gory details about your duel with Nott, but Mione promised to help me with my Potions homework.”

“Better not keep her waiting then. Harry can tell you later. Or if you're really interested in a detailed report, I can give you one tomorrow. If we're still on for our weekly study sessions, that is.” Draco promised.

“Of course that's still on. And I'll hold you to it. See you tomorrow, mate.” the red-head gave a cheery wave and went to join the rest of the team.

Draco strolled onto the pitch, where Harry had finally managed to close the lid of the box.  
“Let's just put that back where it belongs and then you can tell me all about the fight with Nott, okay?”  
The blond nodded and followed him to the shed, where the training brooms and Quidditch equipment were kept.

Harry put the box on a shelf and turned to look at his boyfriend expectantly.  
“Okay, tell me.”  
“What, here?”  
“Sure. I figured we wouldn't be disturbed here.” the younger boy reasoned, pulling out his wand to cast a quick locking and silencing spell at the door.

Draco's mind promptly supplied him with a few ideas of what they could do in here instead of talking, but he quickly dismissed the thought, hoping he wasn't blushing. This was neither the time, nor the place.

“There's really not much to tell. I went into the bathroom between classes to fix my hair, because Blaise claimed I looked rumpled.” He ignored Harry's snicker at that and recounted how Nott had attacked him. “I had disarmed him and was just about to use a full-body-bind, but that idiot lunged at me before I could. We went tumbling out into the corridor and suddenly Ron was there and had Nott hanging upside down in the air.” he finished.

“Ron said Nott tried to bash your head in with something.” the Gryffindor argued.  
“Right. I almost forgot about that. I ducked and then Ron got him with the spell.”  
“You forgot about that?” It was clear that Harry didn't believe him.  
“Hey, it all happened so fast. I can't remember every detail.” the blond defended himself.

“Okay. And what happened then?”  
“Snape showed up. He seemed pretty pissed about that spell Ron used.”  
“I can imagine. Last year I … I accidentally saw a memory of his, where my dad and Sirius used that spell on him. It was really bad.” Harry let him know.  
“Well, that explains a lot. Wait, what do you mean, you 'accidentally' saw the memory?”

The dark-haired boy gave him a sheepish look. “Okay, maybe I … snooped.”  
“You snooped?”  
“Hmm... He was supposed to teach me Occlumency last year. And he always put some of his memories into a pensieve before we started. And when he had to leave the room for a moment I... sort of... took a peek at them.”

Draco could only stare at the younger boy for a moment.   
“Does he know?” he asked finally.  
“Unfortunately yes. He caught me. Man, I've never seen him that pissed off. He yelled at me and threw me out of his office.”  
“Can you really fault him for that?”  
“No, I can't. And you can't tell anyone about it, okay? Not even Ron and Hermione.”  
“You haven't told them?”

Harry hesitated. “It was too personal.” he said at last. “I know I shouldn't have looked. And I feel really bad about it. What I saw... what my dad and Sirius did to him... just because they were bored... I can sort of understand why he hated them.” 

His voice dropped down to a whisper at that last part and Draco realized that this wasn't really about Snape. It was about James Potter. Because Harry had always idolized the father he'd never known. He had only heard the good things about him. The fun stories from people like Sirius. It must have been hard for him to realize that his father hadn't been perfect. That he'd done things Harry couldn't be proud of.

Draco understood that all too well. Because even though he'd always feared his own father, he'd still looked up to him. At least until he'd found out just what kind of man Lucius Malfoy really was. But he had no idea how to tell his boyfriend. Could he really compare his own father to Harry's? Even if James Potter had bullied Snape in school, it was still a far cry from the crimes Lucius had committed. 

So he simply grabbed Harry's hand and promised: “I won't tell anyone. But thank you for telling me.”  
“I trust you.” the Gryffindor said simply.  
Draco knew that he did. That he trusted him completely. And that trust meant the world to him.

“So what happened after Snape showed up?” Harry finally steered them back to the original topic. The blond was glad for it. He still found it difficult to talk about his feelings. Even to Harry.

“Not much.” he said with a shrug. “Snape sent Nott to the hospital wing and told me to follow him to his office.”  
“And ...?” the younger boy prodded.  
“And that's it, really. He told me to be careful around Nott, but he didn't give me any trouble. He only claimed that I spent too much time with you and you're rubbing off on me.”

“Am I?”  
“Of course not. I wasn't being reckless. I'm never reckless. I ran into Nott by accident.”  
“Oh, I don't know. I think pulling me behind that tapestry after Potions the other day was pretty reckless.” Harry pointed out.

Draco couldn't really deny that. He had no idea what had gotten into him. But he also wasn't ready to admit defeat.

“You weren't complaining.”  
“I didn't even get a chance. You were very set on molesting me.”  
“Says the guy who locked us in a broom shed and put up a silencing spell.” the Slytherin shot back. He grinned when his boyfriend faltered.

“I... just to talk! I wasn't thinking of.. of … molesting you.”  
“Right.”  
“I wasn't!” Harry insisted fiercely, before pausing to give him a speculative look. Draco didn't like that look at all. It was way too Slytherin.

“But you obviously thought of it.” the younger boy mused.  
The blond knew that he was caught, so he just gave a non-committal shrug. “Maybe.”

He only had a second to admire the sudden glint in Harry's eyes, before he found himself pushed back against a shelf. Quidditch gear rained down around them, but before he could protest, Harry's lips covered his in a bruising kiss, cutting off whatever he'd been about to say and he was too busy kissing back to really care.

With the room of requirement constantly blocked by Nott, it was nearly impossible to get more than a few minutes alone. They managed a few stolen kisses in hidden niches and alcoves or the odd, deserted classroom, but the risk of discovery always made them pull apart quickly.

Sometimes Draco even thought of just throwing caution to the wind and making their relationship public. Why should he care what other people thought? But then he remembered who he was. The fallen prince of Slytherin. A Death Eater's son. People would give them a hard time. The stares and whispers would increase. The Prophet would haunt them and most likely start writing shit about Harry again.

And Voldemort would know that Draco was Harry's weakness and try to use him against the other boy. The risk was too high. For both of them. So he kept quiet and took what little time alone they got.

He gasped when one of Harry's hands slipped beneath his shirt, while the other moved downward, coming to a stop at the waistband of his pants. Lately the Gryffindor had started getting bolder when they managed to find themselves a quiet spot. And Draco found himself thinking of the things Sirius had told him during the holidays, his imagination running wild.

“Draco, I want... Can I..?”

The blond looked down at Harry's hands, which were both hovering above his waistband by now. Biting his lip, he nodded jerkily. The younger boy looked surprised for a moment, but then his trembling hands undid the fastenings. Draco helped him to push down his pants a little, blushing crimson when his erection sprang free.

For a second Harry just stared at it, making the Slytherin's nervousness grow. Then he wrapped a tentative hand around the blond's cock and gave an experimental stroke. Draco groaned and pushed into the touch, reaching out to steady himself on the shelf behind him. 

“Okay?” Harry asked quietly.  
“Fuck, yes!”

The younger boy grinned and continued stroking him. He kept changing his pace and the tightness of his grip, teasing without really meaning to, but just the fact that Harry was touching him like this nearly sent the blond over the edge. The Gryffindor seemed torn between watching the movement of his hand and watching Draco's face. And Draco was so turned on that he couldn't even feel embarrassed.

He threw his head back and let his eyes flutter closed, little moans and whimpers spilling from his lips as he pushed into Harry's hand. 

“Harry! Gonna...” was all he managed, before his orgasm ripped through him, leaving him weak in the knees. He slumped further back against the shelf, unable to stay upright on his own.

When he opened his eyes Harry was staring at him hungrily. His pupils were dilated, only a small ring of green remaining. With trembling hands Draco pulled up his trousers and fastened them, for once uncaring of the mess. A cleaning spell would take care of that. Later. Now he had more important things on his mind.

He reached for Harry's fly and the younger boy sucked in a shocked breath.  
“You don't have to...”  
“Shut up, Potter!”

Draco reversed their positions and pushed the Gryffindor back against the shelf, before opening his fly and freeing Harry's straining erection. Without giving himself time to think about what he was doing, he wrapped his hand around the pulsing flesh. Harry whimpered and arched into the touch. Draco started stroking him lightly, watching his reactions in fascination. The angle was awkward,   
but he got surer with each stroke. And his boyfriend was so responsive and he was making these lovely noises...

Growing bolder Draco pushed his free hand beneath Harry's shirt to pinch and tease his nipples. Harry grabbed his shoulder to steady himself, shuddering uncontrollably. Draco quickened his strokes and was rewarded with a strangled moan that sounded vaguely like his name, as Harry's cock throbbed in his hand, spurting come between their bodies.

He pulled back, surreptitiously wiping his hand on Harry's shirt while the younger boy was still too out of it to notice. Once Harry's breathing evened out and he was able to stand without wobbling again, Draco took out his wand and cast a quick cleaning spell on both of them. The Gryffindor thanked him and pulled his trousers back up. Draco straightened his clothes, a little unsure now that the rush had worn off.

Harry bit his lip as if in thought, then leaned over and placed a strangely chaste kiss on Draco's lips. The blond nearly laughed, because it was so unexpected and different from what they'd just done. He brought his hand up and cupped Harry's cheek, deepening the kiss for just a moment. When they pulled apart, both boys were grinning, all awkwardness forgotten.

“I think we missed dinner.” the Gryffindor broke the sudden silence.  
Draco chuckled and looked at his watch. “Guess you're right.” Had they really been in here that long? Hadn't felt like it. “We could head down to the kitchens.” he suggested.  
“Sounds like a plan.”

They left the shed together (after Harry had nearly run into the door, because he'd forgotten about the locking spell) and walked up to the castle side by side, their shoulders brushing occasionally. Draco had to resist the urge to grab Harry's hand.

The house-elves were happy to see them and quickly set a table in the corner, providing them with various foods. It felt strangely intimate, eating here in the kitchen, just the two of them (and the army of house-elves swarming around them) and Draco wished they could do this more often.

They ended up staying for almost an hour, before parting ways and walking back to their respective common rooms. The Slytherin had a hard time keeping the stupid grin off his face. At least until he entered the common room and ran into Millicent, who started shouting as soon as she spied him.

“Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick!”  
“Sorry. I was down at the pitch with Harry. And then we went to the kitchen for dinner.”  
“And you couldn't have told me? I thought someone had attacked you again. We were looking all over for you! Don't ever do that again!”

“I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to worry you...” the blond started to apologize, but she would hear none of it and kept ranting about how worried she'd been and what a thoughtless prick he was. It took Draco about ten minutes and the promise to never run off without telling her again to calm the girl down. To the amusement of the other students gathered in the common room.

When he finally made it to his dorm room he was greeted by a grinning Blaise.  
“Guess you're feeling properly chastised now, huh?”  
“Not you too.” Draco grumbled.

“I wasn't worried.” Blaise let him know. “I told her you were probably shagging Harry somewhere, but she wouldn't listen. She kept ranting about how worried she was, despite the fact that Ron and Luna agreed with me. She even started a search party with Longbottom. And I think they actually searched the castle for you, instead of using the time constructively.”

Draco didn't want to know what Blaise meant by using the time constructively. It was nice that Millie worried about him, but she was totally exaggerating. He already knew that she'd be trying to follow him everywhere for the next few days, no matter what he said.

“We should do something to set her up with Longbottom.” he suggested.  
“Playing match-maker now?”  
“If she's busy snogging Longbottom, she's got less time to follow me around.” the blond reasoned.

“True. But I think I'll stay out of this one. It's much more fun to watch your mounting frustration while she plays cock-block without even realizing.” Blaise said with a chuckle.  
“You're an arse.”  
“Also true.”

Draco shook his head and decided to go to bed early. Maybe he could talk some sense into Millie tomorrow morning. Or maybe he could get Hermione to do it. She was usually very good at playing mediator.


	26. Lightning strikes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thanks for the lovely Reviews.   
> I'm pretty happy with the new chapter, if I do say so myself. And it turned out longer than I expected...   
> We all know what happens to Harry, so I figured I'd show things from Draco's perspective. Hope you like my version of events.

Draco burst into the common room, startling Millicent, who was in the middle of tutoring one of the younger Slytherins.

“You need to come with me. Now.” the blond demanded.  
Millie opened her mouth to protest, but the little girl beat her to it: “She can't come with you. She's busy.”  
“I wasn't talking to you. Come on, Millicent.”  
“But I am talking to you. And you can't leave now. It's only five minutes to curfew.”

Draco glared at the girl. “Do I look like I care?”  
“But...”  
“I don't have time for this nonsense! Come on, Millicent!” he ordered, before addressing the little girl again: “And if you ever want help with your homework again, you'll better keep your mouth shut.”

That said he marched out of the common room. Millicent hurried to follow him.  
“Okay, you'll better have a damn good reason for snapping at poor Cora and ordering me around. I'm not Crabbe or Goyle!” she hissed once she caught up to him.

Draco flinched, once again reminded that it wasn't a good idea to get on her bad side. She was still a little pissed at him after their last argument, where he'd threatened to hex her if she didn't stop following him around. He knew that she only meant well, but it had been grating on his nerves and cutting into the already limited alone time he got with his boyfriend. Hermione had done her best to play mediator, but Millie could really hold a grudge when she wanted to.

“Sorry. I really didn't mean to be rude, but...”   
He was cut off when they rounded the corner and nearly ran into Blaise, who was obviously trying to make it back to the dorms before curfew.

“Were you looking for me?” he wondered.  
“No, but since you're already here, you'll better come along as well.” the blond decided.  
“Sure. Where are we going?”  
“Seventh floor. Harry just sent me a message to meet him there.”  
“And you want us to come along and watch? Kinky.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Not that kind of message, Blaise!”  
“What exactly did the message say?” Millicent cut in.  
“To meet him on the seventh floor. Now. And to bring back-up. Which means you two, I guess.”

They didn't talk any more as they hurried up stairs and through corridors, trying to be quiet so they wouldn't be caught sneaking around after curfew. The last thing Draco needed right now was a run-in with Filch. 

When they finally reached the seventh floor, Harry was nowhere to be seen. But Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna were waiting by the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and his trolls.

“Where's Harry?” Draco asked in a hushed whisper.  
“He left with Dumbledore.” Hermione answered just as quietly and he felt his stomach drop.  
“They're going after the Horcrux?”

The Gryffindor girl nodded. “They left already. But that's not the reason we're here. Harry didn't have much time, so he couldn't give us all the details, but... he said he heard Nott celebrating in the room of requirement.”

“Celebrating?” Blaise repeated doubtfully.

“Yes. Shouting in joy, something like that. Harry thinks he finally accomplished whatever he's been trying to do in there. And now that Dumbledore isn't here... he was afraid that something might happen while they're gone.”

“And what exactly does he expect us to do?” Draco wanted to know.  
“He asked us to keep an eye on Nott and Snape. Patrol here and in front of Snape's office. And alert McGonagall if something happens.” Hermione explained.  
“And he told us to share this between us.” Ron added, pulling out a small bottle.

Draco stared at it in shock. “Felix felicis? Why did he give that to you? Why didn't he take it himself?”  
Ron shrugged. “He thought we'd need it more.”  
“But.. that's madness! He's the one running into danger. We're safe here at Hogwarts.”  
“He insisted. You know how he is.” Hermione said.

“But we...”  
“We'll do as he said.” she cut him off. “We'll take a small sip each and then we're going to split up. Luna and I will patrol by Snape's office. You guys stay here.”  
“And what if someone catches us? It's already past curfew.” Blaise pointed out.

Hermione gave him an unimpressed look. “We'll think of something. But no-one is forcing you to help. You can go back to your dorm if you like.”

The Slytherin quickly shook his head, flashing her a smile. “And miss all the fun? No way. But I'm coming down to Snape's office with you. He might react a little less sour to someone from his own house.”  
“Okay.”

Nothing was okay in Draco's opinion. Not even close to okay. But there was nothing he could do, aside from following through with Harry's plan and hoping for the best. So when Luna passed him the bottle of Felix Felicis, he took a small sip, before handing it to Millicent. The feeling of euphoria and certainty that washed over him was brief. His mind was too consumed with worry for his boyfriend to fully appreciate the effects of the potion.

“Alert professor McGonagall if anything strange happens.” Hermione cautioned, before following Luna and Blaise.  
“Let's hope we don't have to.” Millie muttered and started pacing. Neville fell into step beside her, so Draco walked in the opposite direction.

“Harry will be fine.” Ron stated confidently as he came to walk beside him.  
“You can't know that.”  
“Stop being pessimistic. He's with Dumbledore. He would never let anything bad happen to Harry. And they're just going to get the Horcrux. They're not going into battle or something like that.”

“Do you really think Vo... Vold..demort just left the Horcrux lying around somewhere? It's going to be protected.” the blond argued.  
“You think?”  
The Slytherin rolled his eyes. “Of course. If you were some mad, dark lord, would you simply put a bit of your soul into a box and keep it on a shelf for others to find?”

“Hmm.. probably not. But Harry is with Dumbledore. He's going to protect him.” Ron's belief in the old headmaster's abilities was firm. Draco only wished he could share it.  
“He's not infallible.”  
The red-head looked at him sharply, so he pointed out: “Have you looked at his hand lately?”

“I try not to. It's creepy.” the Gryffindor admitted.  
“It looks like it's been damaged by a dark curse. A very strong one at that, since it doesn't seem to heal.”  
“Doesn't have to mean it's got something to do with Horcruxes.”

“But I think it does.” Draco insisted. “Harry told us that Dumbledore managed to find and destroy one before the start of term, remember? And he must have injured his hand around the same time. So it would be one hell of a coincidence if his injury wasn't linked to the Horcrux.”

Ron was silent for a moment. “Okay, makes sense. But still... Harry is going to be fine. I mean, he faced you-know-who and a bunch of Death Eaters when he was only fourteen and got away. You said it yourself – he's got more luck than anyone else.”

“More luck than brains.” Draco corrected with a snort.  
“Same difference.”  
They both chuckled.  
“He'll be fine. He always is.” Ron said again.  
“You're right.” the blond finally agreed. Now they only had to hope that Harry's infamous luck didn't run out. But he kept that thought to himself.

They continued pacing back and forth, casting nervous glances at the blank wall every now and then. Sometimes they talked in hushed whispers, but mostly they were silent. Draco had no idea how much time went by like this. He was starting to wonder if anything at all would happen here tonight and his thoughts kept straying to Harry.

Where was he right now? What dangers would he have to face? The Slytherin couldn't shake the fear that something would go terribly wrong. Ron tried to distract him, but gave up after a while and went to join Neville and Millicent at the other end of the corridor. 

And of course that was when it happened.

Draco was the first to notice the appearance of the door. He was about to alert the others, when it opened to reveal Nott. The junior Death Eater was clutching something in his hand and Draco startled when he recognized the strange object. The hand of Glory.

“Gives light only to the beholder.” he whispered, wondering what the hell the other boy was doing with that thing. And then everything happened really fast.

Ron shouted at Nott, who in turn dropped something, plunging the corridor into sudden darkness. Draco cast a lumos, but it did nothing to lessen the pitch blackness surrounding him. Neither did any other spell he tried. He stumbled into the wall, which gave way and sent him tumbling into a hidden niche.

He could hear footsteps thundering past, so he stayed where he was and waited, holding his breath. When everything was silent again he crawled out of his hiding place. He still couldn't see a thing, so he groped along the wall, until he reached a junction and emerged into another corridor, this one thankfully lit and completely empty.

The blond leaned against the wall for a moment, pondering his options. Ron, Millicent and Neville had been on the other end of the corridor. There was no way he could find them in the darkness of whatever spell Nott had used and he also had no idea how to counter that spell. And from the sounds he'd heard, Nott hadn't been alone. Which meant that there were strangers in the castle. Death Eaters, most likely.

Draco cursed himself for getting involved with Gryffindors and letting himself be dragged into situations like this. But there was nothing for it. He didn't know how much the others had noticed or where they even were. Which meant that he had to alert a teacher, preferably McGonagall.

With a resigned sigh he started making his way down the corridor, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard voices up ahead.

“Go on. I will take care of the blood traitor spawn.” a male voice said and a few others laughed.  
Draco shuddered. He knew that voice all too well. His first instinct was to turn around and run and it took all of his willpower not to give into that urge. He took a deep breath and forced himself to creep forward instead. 

After a moment's hesitation he finally peered around the corner. Once again luck was on his side (thanks to the Felix Felicis, he realized belatedly). His father was standing only a few feet away, but he had his back to Draco and seemed completely focused on the girl lying on the floor in front of him.

“What a beautiful coincidence that I should run into you. Your father has been an even worse nuisance than usual lately. But I think losing his only daughter will put him in his place, wouldn't you agree? Not to mention that Potter will be devastated by your untimely demise.” Lucius mused cruelly.

Ginny Weasley stared up at him defiantly, but Draco could see that she was shivering. And he couldn't blame her. He knew exactly how it felt to be on the receiving end of his father's wrath.

“Any last words? Something you want your Muggle-loving idiot of a father to know?”  
“Screw you! My dad is a better man than you could ever hope to be!” Ginny spat.

But Draco wasn't fooled. It was only false bravado. He could hear the tremor in her voice and see that her eyes kept straying to her wand, which was lying on the floor, way out of her reach.

Lucius chuckled darkly and raised his wand, pointing it at the girl. Draco felt shivers running down his spine. With a trembling hand he raised his own wand.

“Avada...”  
“Stupefy!”

Lucius whirled around, but he was a second too late. Draco's spell hit him with such force that he was ripped off his feet and thrown backwards into the wall. He crumbled to the ground and lay motionless.

Draco walked over on shaky legs, peering down at him, before he picked up Ginny's wand.  
“You saved my life!” she exclaimed in disbelief.  
“Don't get any ideas. I still don't like you.” the Slytherin said. Despite his harsh words, he held out his hand and pulled her to her feet. “But that doesn't mean I want you dead.” He handed over the wand and she took it with a smile.

“Thank you.”  
“Don't mention it. We should better get out of here, before he comes to.” he urged, glancing at the still unconscious form of his father.  
“The others went this way. There were four or five of them.” Ginny let him know.  
“Good. Then we'll go in the opposite direction.” he decided. Luckily this would also take them to McGonagall's rooms.

He started walking slowly, scanning the hallway for any dangers. Ginny followed close behind.  
“What were you even doing here? Why aren't you in bed?” Draco asked.

“Hermione used the DA coins to alert everyone. I wanted to help. But I figured you guys wouldn't be too pleased about seeing me, so I lurked around in the next corridor.” she admitted. “I heard Ron shout and then a commotion... Before I really knew what was going on, they were there.”

“You know how bloody stupid that was, right?”  
His only answer was a snort, but he hadn't really expected more. Bloody reckless Gryffindors.  
“Where are we going?” Ginny changed the subject.  
“We need to alert McGonagall.”  
“So you're not simply running away?”

It was a fair question, he supposed. But he still had to bite his tongue to keep from lashing out at the girl. “There are Death Eaters in the castle. I have no idea where the others are. Or how much they noticed, for that matter. Someone has to raise the alarm and it looks like it's going to be us.”

“You're not only doing that because I'm with you.”  
It was more a statement than a question, but Draco felt compelled to answer nonetheless. Especially since she sounded so surprised.

“I was on my way to McGonagall's quarters when I encountered you.” And he should get a medal for phrasing it so nicely, instead of reminding the red-headed nuisance that he'd just saved her sorry ass. “I'm only taking you with me, because it's probably safer to stick together right now. For you, at least.” Okay, so he couldn't quite refrain from that little jibe.

He paused when they reached another juncture and was just about to peer around the corner, when he noticed her looking at him oddly.  
“What now?”  
“You know, at first I really didn't get it. But I think I'm starting to see why Harry likes you.”

The blond blinked at her. “I hope that's not your weird way of saying you're developing a crush on me.”  
Ginny clapped a hand over her mouth and nearly doubled over, trying to stifle her laughter. “Oh Merlin, no!” she forced out between hiccuping breaths.  
“Thank Salazar. You're really not my type. And now come on. We're wasting time!”

Turning the corner they spied two tall figures up ahead. Draco's hand shot up, a curse already on his lips, when he recognized them.  
“Expell...” Ginny shouted, but he slapped a hand over mouth and hissed:   
“Look before you hex!”

Alerted by her shout the two men turned and rushed towards them.  
“Ginny? Draco? What the hell...”  
Draco had never been so happy to see Sirius and Remus.  
“We have no time to explain.” he interrupted the animagus. “There are Death Eaters in the castle. At least five of them. My father is somewhere back there and the others went in that direction.”

Sirius cursed under his breath and quickly sent his Patronus to alert McGonagall and Flitwick.   
“Are Harry and Dumbledore back yet?” Remus wanted to know.  
“I don't think so.”  
“Alright, I guess it's better if you come with us. But if it comes to a fight I want you to run away and lock yourselves in a room. Understood?” The werewolf looked at them intently. Draco nodded. There was no way he was going to duel a bunch of Death Eaters. He wasn't suicidal.

They went back the way they'd come, with Sirius and Remus taking the lead this time. The corridor where he'd attacked Lucius was empty now and Draco shuddered at the thought of having to face his father again. It was one thing to throw a hex at his back, but quite another to confront him face to face.

“Why are you at Hogwarts?” Ginny asked suddenly, breaking the tense silence.  
“Whenever Dumbledore leaves, a few members of the Order patrol the hallways at night. Just to be safe.” Remus answered.  
“And what are you...” Sirius started to ask, but the werewolf shushed him, pointing at something ahead of them.

They crept a few steps further and then Draco heard it, too. Loud voices, yells and bangs and the unmistakable sounds of people fighting.   
“Stay here.” the animagus ordered, while he and Remus ran towards the noise.

The two teenagers stood stock-still for a moment, listening with baited breath. There was no way to make out voices. No way to know who was fighting whom. Or who was winning for that matter.

“Sod it!” Ginny exclaimed suddenly and took off in the direction of the fight. Draco cursed under his breath, hesitating only a second.  
“Fuck, Snape was right. I'm turning into a bloody Gryffindor!”

He caught up with Ginny just as she reached the corridor that led up to the Astronomy tower and they ran right into mayhem. Sirius was duelling a large blond Death Eater, while Remus and Tonks tried to break down some magical barrier, blocking the steps up to the tower.

Professor McGonagall was crouched over someone on the floor. Draco could only make out red hair and lots of blood and felt like he might be sick. Ron was next to his head of house, looking deathly pale and close to panicking. A few feet to the left Millicent was trying to shield Neville's prone form from stray hexes.

The blond could do nothing but stand there and watch in shock. Snape swept onto the scene, closely followed by Flitwick. The barrier didn't stop the potions master and he disappeared up the stairs to the Astronomy tower without breaking stride, while Flitwick bounced back and then tried to help Remus and Tonks.

“Bill?” Ginny whimpered suddenly, running over to join Ron and professor McGonagall.  
Draco ducked out of the way as Sirius and the blond Death Eater came barrelling past, still engaged in a fierce duel. Remus gave up on the barrier and ran over to help his boyfriend.

Suddenly there were loud noises from up ahead, bangs and yells and then running footsteps. The barrier exploded outwards without warning. Tonks was tossed back, but rolled and landed surprisingly graceful. Tiny professor Flitwick had no such luck. He crashed hard into the opposite wall.

And then the Death Eaters came rushing down and even more chaos ensued as they attacked. Draco jumped aside as Snape and Nott came striding past and suddenly found himself face to face – or rather face to broad chest - with a tall, ugly man he recognized as the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. 

Greyback grinned, showing bloody teeth. The blond lifted his wand, but he was a second too late. The werewolf lunged at him and he fell to the ground. The breath was knocked from his lungs and that ugly, grinning face was way too close.

“Petrificus totalys!” Draco shouted and Greyback was thrown off him. He quickly scrambled to his feet, only to find the werewolf attacking again.  
“Impedimenta!” a familiar voice roared, knocking Greyback aside.  
Draco felt relief washing over him. “Harry!”  
“Are you okay?” the dark-haired boy shouted back.  
“I'm fine. Where...”

But Harry wasn't listening. As soon as Draco had confirmed that he was unharmed, the Gryffindor took off running. Somehow he made it through the fray of fighters, but Draco was delayed by Alecto Carrow. He managed to shake her off with a well placed jelly-legs-jinx and saw his boyfriend disappearing around the corner. Without thinking, the blond sprinted after him. 

They dashed through empty corridors and down the great marble staircase. Draco lost sight of Harry for a moment, but kept running, following the odd blood splatter on the floor. He ran past portraits full of alarmed people and confused students in dressing gowns, down another staircase. There were shouts and noises all around, but the Slytherin ignored them, completely focused on finding Harry again and realizing too late that his boyfriend must have taken one of his shortcuts.

After what felt like an eternity he reached the entrance hall, where the great oak front doors had been blasted open. There were smears of blood on the walls and even more terrified students cowering on the floor. Draco ran past them, out into the night, where he could hear more shouting. His heart was hammering in his chest and his breath was coming in short, painful gasps, but the fear for Harry drove him on.

He could see a large fire in the distance and people engaged in a duel. Running towards the commotion he recognized Snape. The potions master was dragging Nott out past the gates of Hogwarts and apparating away. Harry was struggling to his feet after obviously having taken a tumble onto the grass. The blond finally caught up and managed to grab him around the waist before he could run off again.

“No, let me go! Hagrid!” Harry yelled, struggling against his grip.

Draco finally realized that the source of the large fire was Hagrid's hut. Harry continued struggling, until they both saw the half-giant emerging from the burning building, carrying his boarhound Fang. He stumbled towards them and gently put the dog down.

“Harry, are ye alrigh'?”  
“Yes. And you?”  
“We're fine. Takes more ter finish me.” Hagrid assured.

Harry finally stopped struggling and sagged against Draco in relief. The blond tensed when he spied the rest of the Death Eaters coming out of the castle and running towards the gates. Luckily most of them seemed completely focused on their escape. Only two figures stopped and looked in their direction.

Lucius Malfoy glared at his son with utter disdain. Draco tightened his hold on Harry and glared back, gripping his wand so tightly his knuckles were turning white. Greyback took a step towards them and Lucius raised his wand, but before he could utter a curse, Sirius came bursting through the front doors of the castle. The two Death Eaters turned away and hurried to follow Snape and the others.

“We need to put out your house. The spell is Aguamenti.” Harry said suddenly.  
Hagrid muttered something and pointed his pink umbrella at his hut. The Gryffindor lifted a trembling arm to aid him and the flames were doused in water.

“'S not too bad.” the half-giant claimed, staring at the smouldering ruins. “Nothin' Dumbledore won' be able to put righ'.”   
He kept rambling, but Draco heard none of it. Harry had suddenly tensed in his arms. 

“No. Nonono...”  
“Harry, what...?”  
“He's dead!” the dark-haired boy gasped, drawing a hiccuping breath. “He's dead. They killed him!”  
“Who...?”

But Harry wasn't listening any more. He freed himself from Draco's grasp and stumbled back to the castle. There were many lights on now and the Slytherin could see lots of people gathered on the lawn. Teachers and students in their dressing gowns. They were walking towards the foot of the Astronomy tower and Draco thought he could make out a dark shape in the grass.

He followed Harry through the crowd, which seemed to part for them. But he wasn't ready for what he would see. Because lying on the ground, spread-eagled, dead and broken, was Albus Dumbledore. His eyes were closed and he looked almost peaceful. A choked sob tore from Harry's throat as he sank down beside the old headmaster.


	27. Exhaustion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely and encouraging comments. And sorry for making you wait. But it's a longer chapter this time. Hope you'll like it.

Harry had no idea how long he sat there, next to the fallen headmaster, clutching the useless locket in his hand. He couldn't believe that it had all been for nothing. Everything they had been through tonight. All the pain and sacrifice. Dumbledore had died in vain.

He was distantly aware of the many people surrounding him, of their sobs and murmuring voices. Someone tried to talk him, Hagrid possibly, but Harry wasn't listening. He felt frozen to the spot. Unable to move. Unable to take his eyes off Dumbledore's prone form.

Until suddenly strong arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him to his feet. He knew immediately that it was Draco, so he didn't fight. Instead he turned in the embrace. For a long moment they just looked at each other. Then the blond reached up to wipe the tears off Harry's cheeks in a tender gesture he usually reserved for when they were alone.

“Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing.”  
“I'm not hurt.” Harry protested.  
“McGonagall's orders.” the Slytherin explained, wrapping an arm securely around his waist.

The younger boy leaned against him and allowed the blond to lead him back into the castle. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically and his mind felt sluggish. They were already on the stairs when he remembered something. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Draco in fear.

“Who... who died? Nott said...”  
“Just a Death Eater.” a voice said behind them and Harry jumped in shock. He hadn't even noticed that Sirius was following them.  
“But Nott said...”

“Don't worry. Some of us sustained injuries, but .. they'll be okay.” the animagus assured, putting a calming hand on his shoulder. “You can see for yourself when we get to the hospital wing.”

Somewhat reassured Harry allowed Draco to steer him up the stairs. There were people here, too. Mostly students, clad in pyjamas and dressing gowns, huddled together in small groups. They were whispering with each other and staring at Harry, but he was too exhausted to care right now.

When they finally reached the hospital wing the first thing Harry saw was Neville, lying in a bed near the door, apparently asleep. Millicent was sitting at his side, holding his hand. She gave them a shaky smile, before focusing her attention back on the boy in the bed.

Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Blaise, Remus and Tonks were crowded together at the far end of the ward. Harry saw a man with red hair lying in the bed. His face was so badly torn and slashed that it was unrecognisable. Madam Pomfrey was dabbing at his wounds with some harsh-smelling ointment. 

Hermione looked up when they entered and immediately ran over to hug Harry. “It's Bill. Greyback attacked him.” she explained when she noticed him looking at the injured red-head. “Madam Pomfrey said he'll survive, but his wounds will probably never fully heal. And Remus thinks he might have some wolfish characteristics from now on. But since Greyback hadn't turned when he bit him, he won't be a full werewolf.”

“What happened, Harry? Where's Dumbledore?” Ron wanted to know.

Harry felt his knees threatening to give out and was glad when Draco once again wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him.

“He's dead. Dumbledore is dead.” Sirius answered for him.  
“No! How...?” Remus gasped in shock.  
“It was Snape.” Harry heard himself saying. “Or maybe it was Nott. I'm not really sure.” he was surprised how hollow his voice sounded to his own ears.  
“What happened?” Ron asked again, his voice even shakier this time.

The dark-haired boy allowed his godfather to lead him over to one of the unoccupied beds and push him into a sitting position. Draco immediately took a seat beside him, putting a comforting hand on his back, while the others crowded around them.

“We arrived back at the Astronomy tower, because we'd seen the Dark Mark. Dumbledore was ill … and weak. But.. he must have noticed that it was a trap. I was under the invisibility cloak and he … he immobilized me. I couldn't do anything but watch.” his breath hitched, but he forced himself to go on: “Nott came and disarmed him. And then more Death Eaters came and … they killed him. Snape and Nott. They both … they both used Avada Kedavra.”

The others looked stricken, even Blaise. Madam Pomfrey burst into tears. Ginny sniffled as well. Remus was shaking his head like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

“Listen.” Luna said suddenly and they all fell silent. Somewhere out in the darkness Fawkes the phoenix was singing. For a long while they listened to his lament and Harry found the pain easing a little.

The moment of silence was broken when professor McGonagall entered the ward, closely followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Fleur, who immediately rushed to Bill's bedside. Harry heard Fleur declaring loudly that she was still going to marry Bill and suddenly she and Mrs. Weasley were crying and hugging each other.

His attention was diverted by professor McGonagall however, who approached him cautiously. “The Ministry has been notified of what happened.” she let him know. “I know it is probably the last thing you want right now, Mr. Potter, but I need to ask you a few questions before they arrive. If you would come with me...”

She was right. He didn't want to answer any questions. But he knew that the people from the Ministry would demand to know what had happened and he'd rather talk to her than them. 

“Minerva, he's been through enough for one night!” Sirius protested.  
“I know and I would not ask if it wasn't absolutely necessary.”  
“It's okay.” Harry said quietly.

“Are you sure, Harry? You don't have to do this.” his godfather assured.  
“I'm sure.”  
“Okay, then. But I'm coming with you.”  
“Of course.” McGonagall agreed.  
“Me too.” Draco decided.

She looked less pleased about this, but the blond glared at her until she gave a reluctant nod. “Very well, come along then.”

Harry's feet felt like lead, but he forced himself to follow her, noting with surprise that she wasn't leading them to her office. They were going to Dumbledore's office. Then he realized that she must be headmistress now. So it was her office.

Dumbledore's things were gone, leaving the room looking strangely bare. And over the desk hung a new portrait. The old headmaster was snoring lightly in his golden frame. Harry felt a lump in his throat and had to avert his eyes. Despite their differences he'd always looked up to Dumbledore.

McGonagall ushered him into a chair. Draco took a seat next to him, grabbing his hand. Sirius stood behind them, his hands placed on Harry's shoulders. The Gryffindor drew strength from the familiar touches and let them ground him.

“Harry, I would like to know what you and professor Dumbledore were doing this evening when you left the school.” McGonagall addressed him.  
“He didn't tell you?” Harry wondered.  
“Only that you would be gone.”

The dark-haired boy looked up at Sirius, who nodded. “Tell her.”  
“It's a long story. I guess we don't have that much time.”  
“Just the basics then. We can discuss everything else another time.” McGonagall decided.

“We went to get something that will help us defeat Voldemort.” Harry let her know, before talking about the cave and the potion Dumbledore had drunk, the lake and the Inferi and making their way back to find the Dark Mark hovering in the sky above Hogwarts. “And then Snape... and Nott ... killed him.” he ended his tale.

McGonagall had gone very pale. “Snape... I never thought... But Dumbledore trusted him... He was so sure of his loyalty.”

A knock at the door made all of them jump. Professor Slughorn came bustling in without waiting for an invitation. He was closely followed by professor Flitwick, professor Sprout and Hagrid. All four of them looked stricken. Hagrid was dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

“What will happen to the school now?” professor Sprout wondered.  
“That is one of the many things we need to discuss. Preferably before the delegation from the Ministry arrives.” professor McGonagall said.

“You don't need Harry for that discussion, do you?” Sirius cut in.  
“No, I don't think so. Thank you for your time, Mr. Potter. Go get some rest now. And you too, Mr. Malfoy.”

They left the office quietly and parted ways outside. Harry didn't want Draco to leave. He felt like the comforting presence of the blond was the only thing keeping him upright. But he knew that the older boy had to go down to his own dorm-room, so he simply muttered a soft “Goodnight.” and allowed Sirius to lead him to Gryffindor tower.

“Moony and I are going to stay for a while.” the animagus promised. “I guess there'll be things to discuss, once the Ministry officials have left. We'll be in the hospital wing. Come and get me if you need anything, okay?”

Harry just nodded, a little comforted by the fact that his godfather would be close by. He made his way through the portrait hole, ignoring the weepy fat Lady, who swung open without even asking for a password. The common room was surprisingly empty, but when he entered his dorm he nearly ran into Seamus, who had obviously been pacing by the door.

“Harry! What happened? We heard the wildest rumours and...”  
“Lay off, Seamus!” Ron barked.  
“But Dumbledore ...” Dean spoke up from behind Seamus.  
“Not you, too. Leave him alone. Both of you.” the red-head ordered, stomping over. He took Harry's hand and led the dark-haired boy to his bed. Harry sat down and gave him a grateful smile.

“Neville has to stay in the hospital wing overnight, but Pomfrey says he'll be fine.” Ron let him know. “We were all damn lucky. Probably thanks to your Felix potion.”  
“Good.” Harry managed to whisper.

The red-head grabbed a vial from his bedside table and held it out to him. “Pomfrey told me to give you this. Dreamless Sleep. She said you need to swallow the whole vial.”

Harry stared at the potion and felt his throat constricting. The night's events were catching up to him and he felt exhausted like never before. And yet the thought of sleeping terrified him, even if the potion would ensure that he wouldn't be plagued by nightmares. He didn't want to sleep. After all that had happened he didn't feel safe here any longer. What if the Death Eaters returned? What if he was needed?

“Harry?” Ron asked quietly.  
“I don't want to.”  
“But.. the potion will help you sleep.”  
“I don't want to sleep.” the dark-haired boy clarified.  
“You need to sleep.” the red-head insisted.  
“No.” Harry mumbled petulantly, pushing him away.  
“Harry...”  
“I said no!” he yelled, averting his eyes when they filled with tears.

He wrapped his arms around himself and stared at the wall next to his bed. He knew he was being unfair, but he couldn't deal with this. With any of this. And he didn't want to sleep. Ron continued hovering next to his bed for what felt like hours. Harry heard Dean and Seamus whispering in the far corner of the room, but he didn't care. He just continued to stare at the wall and ignore the others, tuning out the sounds of their voices, even as they got louder.

Until the bed dipped behind him and gentle hands grasped his shoulders.  
“Harry.”  
He turned around to stare wide-eyed at the blond boy in his bed.  
“Draco! What … what are you doing here?”  
“I couldn't leave you alone right now.” the Slytherin explained. “And Ron said you don't want to sleep.”

“No. I can't...” his voice broke and Draco scooted closer.  
“I know. But you need to sleep, Harry.” he implored.   
“I can't.”  
“You can. You have to. You're of no use to anyone if you collapse.” the blond pointed out.

Harry knew that he was right, but he still felt torn.  
“I'll stay with you.” Draco offered.  
“Really?”  
“Of course. I'm not going anywhere. Promise.”

He looked sincere, so the younger boy finally nodded reluctantly. When Draco grabbed the hem of his jumper Harry dutifully lifted his arms and allowed the blond to pull it off. There was a strangled sound from the other side of the room.

“Close your mouth, Finnegan. You look like a troll.” Draco sniped.  
“B...but...” the Irishman stammered. He looked so shocked that it almost made Harry smile. Dean seemed stunned speechless.  
Harry kicked off his shoes and took off his jeans, before putting on the pyjama bottoms and t-shirt Draco handed him.

“Here, take this.” the blond urged, holding out the vial of Dreamless Sleep.  
Harry hesitated. “You'll stay?” he checked.  
“I promise I'll still be here when you wake up.”

So he finally gave in and drank the potion. Draco took off his glasses and put them on the bedside table, ushering the younger boy into bed and crawling in beside him. A swish of the Slytherin's wand had the curtains closing around them. Another swish drowned out the sounds of the others, who seemed to be arguing now. Then Draco's arms wrapped around him, pulling him close. Harry closed his eyes and finally allowed exhaustion to take over.


	28. choosing a path

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. first of all thank you dear readers, for sticking with my story. And a massive thanks for all the lovely and encouraging feedback.
> 
> This is the last chapter. For now. There's still a lot to tell and there will be a third part to this series. I just don't know when. I have a few plans and ideas, but right now those are rather vague. And my head is bursting with ideas for other fics and I'm so busy with work right now.... so it might be some time before I'll get around to finishing this series. But I have every Intention of finishing it.
> 
> That said, if anyone has an idea for a title for the third part, please let me know. And don't be shy. It can't be any worse than what I'll come up with. I'm also open to suggestions on what might happen. Though I can't promise that I'm going to write it that way.
> 
> And now I'll stop rambling and get on with the Story.

Harry woke up feeling warm and well-rested. And like someone was watching him. He turned his head and jumped a little when he found Draco in his bed. The blond was propped up on one elbow and seemed to be studying him.

“Draco?” Harry asked curiously, wondering what the blond was doing in his bed. The Slytherin blushed. At least Harry thought he did, but without his glasses he couldn't be sure.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?”

The younger boy shook his head. He fumbled around on the bedside table until he found his glasses and put them on. Draco had sat up now. Harry noticed that he was wearing one of his old shirts. And suddenly it all came back to him. The cave, the fake Horcurx … and Dumbledore.

“How are you feeling?” Draco asked softly, as if sensing his thoughts.  
Harry shrugged. “Okay, I guess. It feels... surreal. Like it was just a bad dream.”  
“I wish it was.”  
“Yeah, me too.”

He scooted over and put his head on the blond's shoulder. “Thank you. For staying with me.”  
“I couldn't leave you alone last night. Not after … everything.”

They were silent for a moment, just sitting there. Then another thought occurred to the Gryffindor.   
“Guess we're no longer a secret then, huh?”  
“Guess not. Unless Ron managed to convince Finnegan to keep his mouth shut.”

Fat chance. Seamus was a terrible gossip. And Dean wasn't much better. It was probably all over the school by now.

“Are you... okay with that?” the younger boy asked hesitantly.  
“It was bound to come out sooner or later.” Draco answered after a moment. “And I don't care what people think. So yes, I guess I'm okay with it. What about you?”

“I don't care what people think, either. And … it'll be nice, not having to hide any longer.” He would be able to hold Draco's hand in public now. Maybe even kiss him. Sod the Daily Prophet and all those gossiping idiots. He deserved some happiness in his life.

“How did you get in here last night?” he wondered after another bout of silence.  
“Ginny let me in.”  
“Ginny? Ginny Weasley? No way!”  
“She did.” the Slytherin insisted. “I think we've come to an agreement last night. And of course there's the fact that she owed me, seeing how I saved her life.”

Harry looked at him wide-eyed, realizing that he was telling the truth. “You... tell me what happened.”  
Draco smirked at the demand, but obligingly told his boyfriend what had happened at Hogwarts while he'd been gone.

“Wow. You attacked your father.” the Gryffindor muttered, once he'd finished his tale.  
“I aimed a hex at his back. It was hardly a great feat, Harry.”  
“But I think it was. It took a lot of courage. You could have run away, but you didn't. You saved Ginny. And fought the Death Eaters.”

Draco sighed, shaking his head in dismay. “Alas, I guess that makes it official. You've turned me into a bloody Gryffindor.”  
It was said to theatrically that Harry burst out laughing.  
“Don't worry. You'll never be a Gryffindor. But maybe I'm rubbing off on you. At least a bit. And you're rubbing off on me.”  
“Maybe.”

They smiled at each other and were just about to lean in for a kiss, when someone tugged on the curtains of Harry's bed, parting them a little. Ron poked his head in, but kept his eyes screwed shut.  
“Are you decent?”

“No, we're both naked and actually just about to shag.” Draco claimed and snickered when Ron yelped and jumped back like he'd been hit by a stinging hex.  
“He's only kidding, Ron. You can look.” Harry assured, giving his boyfriend a shove.

The red-head shuffled closer again, peeking through the curtains cautiously. He looked visibly relieved when he found them both dressed and turned to scowl at the Slytherin.   
“That wasn't funny.”  
“It was hilarious.” Draco insisted, earning himself a glare from Ron and another shove from Harry.

Ron snorted and sat down at the end of the bed. “You're feeling better then?”  
“A bit.” Harry said. “It's still ... sort of unreal.”

“Yeah, it is.” the red-head agreed. “I can't believe that...” he shook his head. “...that all of it really happened. But I guess it's like that for everyone. Lessons have been cancelled for today. The common room is packed and there are a lot of rumours going around. Seamus claims they're going to close the school.”

Harry just nodded, still not quite able to process it all. He kept hoping to wake up and find that it had really just been a nightmare. It would probably take a few more days for him to come to terms with everything.

“Are they gossiping about us as well?” Draco wanted to know.

Ron shrugged. “Some of them. Seamus and Dean were pretty pissed when you showed up last night. They kept complaining. I told them to leave you guys alone and mind their own business, but I guess that didn't stop them from blabbing.”

“Doesn't matter. We're done hiding.” the Slytherin declared.  
“I don't think anyone's going to give you too much trouble. We've all got other things to worry about right now.” the red-head muttered.

Reminded of the horrible truth, they all fell silent. Harry wondered if he could get away with staying in bed all day, when a soft knock at the door startled them. Before anyone had the chance to say something, the door opened and Ginny walked in, closely followed by a tutting Hermione.

“... just barge in like that.” the older girl admonished.  
“I knocked.” Ginny pointed out.  
“But you didn't wait for an invitation.”

“She never does.” Ron interjected helpfully.  
Both girls chose to ignore him.  
“How are you feeling, Harry?” Hermione inquired softly, sitting down at the edge of the mattress.  
“Okay, I guess.” he answered with a shrug.

Ginny snorted and crawled onto the bed as well. Despite the things his boyfriend had told him, Harry was still surprised when she settled down next to Draco, like it was the most normal thing to do. At least he wasn't the only one surprised. Ron looked positively shocked.

“Sure, make yourself comfortable.” Draco muttered wryly.  
Ginny flashed him a grin and he actually smiled back.  
Ron blinked at both of them in turn. “Since when are you two getting along?” he wanted to know.  
“Since last night.” his sister said.

“I saved her from my father. Now she's crushing on me.” the Slytherin claimed.  
“In your dreams, Malfoy.” Ginny shot back.  
“Sorry to disappoint you, but there's only one Gryffindor starring in my dreams. And it certainly isn't you.”

“No-one wants to hear about your sex dreams.” Ron cut in.  
“I didn't say they were sex dreams. Ronald, I'm shocked. Who knew you've got such a dirty mind?”

The red-head spluttered, causing both girls to giggle. Harry found himself grinning as well. The banter of his friends was comforting and made him feel a little lighter. It reminded him that there was more to his life than only darkness, loss and pain.

“We've just been to the hospital wing to check up on Neville.” Hermione changed the subject, taking pity on Ron.  
“How is he?” Harry asked immediately.  
“Oh, he's loads better.” Ginny said with a grin.  
“We kinda... walked in on him and Millie … snogging.” the older girl explained, blushing lightly.

“Finally!” Draco exclaimed. They all turned to look at him, so he shrugged. “What? It's about time, isn't it? They were really starting to grate on my nerves.”  
No-one could argue with that. Harry only wondered what it would take for Ron and Hermione to finally stop dancing around each other and admit their feelings.

“Sorry to interrupt your little pyjama party...”

They all looked up to find Seamus standing in the doorway. He didn't look sorry at all. Dean was right beside him, staring at Harry's bed like he was wondering if they planned to have an orgy.

“What is it, Seamus?” Hermione asked pleasantly.  
“McGonagall told everyone to gather in the great hall in about 20 minutes. There's going to be some sort of announcement I guess.”  
“Yeah, so you'll better get dressed. And get rid of the snake, before someone tells a teacher.” Dean added with a pointed look at Draco.

“Oh get your head out of your arse, Dean!” Ginny snapped, once again surprising everyone. “I know it's a shock, but Malfoy is actually quite alright.”  
“Crushing.” the Slytherin singsonged.  
“Even if he's delusional and too full of himself.” Ginny added with a smirk in his direction, causing him to chuckle.

“We'll let you boys get dressed.” Hermione decided. “We'll wait down in the common room.”   
Harry was grateful when she ushered Ginny, Seamus and Dean out. Reluctantly he dragged himself out of bed. Ron and Draco followed suit.

“A house elf stopped by earlier to bring you a change of clothes. He said Blaise sent him.” Ron let the Slytherin know.  
“Perfect. I didn't fancy putting on yesterday's clothes.”  
“Can you even get ready in 20 minutes. Or, more like 15 now, I guess.” the red-head asked doubtfully.  
“I'll manage.” Draco replied tersely, grabbing his things.

Harry tried to hide his grin. He knew that it usually took his boyfriend a lot longer than that to make sure he looked absolutely perfect.  
“Come on, the bathroom is over there.” he said, grabbing a few clothes as well.

“No making out in there!” Ron yelled after them.  
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Weasley!” Draco yelled back.  
Harry only laughed.

***

The common room was thankfully empty, save for Hermione and Ginny, when the three boys finally came down. Unfortunately this also meant that they were among the last to reach the great hall and their arrival caused quite a bit of a stir. People were openly staring and whispers broke out all over the hall. Whispers which only got louder when Draco made no move to leave Harry's side.

He'd contemplated taking his usual seat at the Slytherin table, but then he'd spied Millicent, Blaise and Luna sitting with Neville and the other Gryffindors. The four had even saved them seats. They seemed surprised about Ginny joining their group – except for Luna, who only smiled knowingly – but no-one commented on it.

“How are you, Neville?” Harry asked. “I wasn't expecting to see you here.”  
“Don't worry, I'm fine. Just got out of the hospital wing. Pomfrey didn't really want to let me go yet, but I insisted.”  
“We had to promise that he's going to return if he starts feeling unwell.” Millicent added.

The sound of someone clearing their throat drew their attention to the teacher's table, where McGonagall had gotten up. She waited until everyone had fallen silent.

“Thank you all for gathering here today. It is my sad duty to inform you of a few things. As you have no doubt already heard, our beloved headmaster Albus Dumbledore passed away last night. He was murdered by professor Snape and Theodore Nott.”

There were murmurs and some loud exclamations all over the hall. Some people started crying. Harry swallowed hard and felt Draco gripping his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He squeezed back, grateful for the silent support.

“Due to these tragic circumstances, all lessons are suspended and examinations postponed.” McGonagall continued. “Professor Dumbledore requested to be buried here at Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic has kindly granted his wish. You will be allowed to stay at the castle and attend the funeral, as long as your parents agree. Once professor Dumbledore has been laid to rest, the Hogwarts Express will take you home.”

She paused, taking a deep breath, like she was steeling herself. “As of yet we cannot say whether the school will open again in September … or remain closed forever.”

***

The days following Dumbledore's death were strange. A lot of parents came to collect their children. Harry learned that the Patil twins had already been gone by the time McGonagall made her speech. Seamus on the other hand refused to accompany his mother home. 

While Hogwarts became strangely empty, the village of Hogsmeade was packed with witches and wizards, who wanted to pay their last respects to Dumbledore. There was also a delegation of the Ministry, including the minister himself, staying at the castle. Harry did his best to avoid them, like he avoided most people.

With no classes to attend and no homework to do, he spent his days surrounded by his friends. The weather was so beautiful, it felt almost like it was mocking them. It could have been a great time, if not for the dark shadow hanging over them. Sometimes he still felt like it had all been a bad dream. Like Dumbledore had to be sitting at the teacher's table, alive and well. Other times the reality was all too clear and he found himself mourning the old headmaster, despite the doubts he'd had about him.

Draco was at his side constantly, offering comfort or silent support. Ironically enough they had picked the perfect time to make their relationship public. Most people were too consumed with grief or too worried for their future to pay them any mind. Of course there was the odd student – usually one of Harry's fan girls or some homophobes – who felt the need to taunt the couple, but the fear of Ginny's bat bogey hexes kept most of them away. As if to make up for her past behaviour, the Gryffindor girl had now turned into their biggest supporter.

The others had welcomed her into the group without question, once she'd apologized for her earlier stupidity. Neville and Millicent seemed joined at the hip. It warmed Harry's heart to see their happiness. At least something good had come of that horrible night. Ron and Hermione however kept dancing around each other.

Bill was still in the hospital wing. His scars looked bad as ever, but aside from an appetite for rare steaks he seemed completely unchanged. The Ministry was looking for Snape and Nott, but they had obviously gone into hiding and Harry doubted they'd find them any time soon.

He slept restlessly, plagued by nightmares about Dumbledore's death and the remaining Horcruxes. He knew what he had to do, but for the moment he tried to push those thoughts aside. The locket was hidden away at the bottom of his trunk. He couldn't bear to look at it. Couldn't bear to be reminded of that night. The others only knew that they'd been to late and that the Horcrux had already been gone, stolen by some unknown person. He had only told Draco of the locket and even the Slytherin hadn't seen it yet.

Dumbledore was put to rest in a white marble tomb close to the lake. It was a perfect summers day. There were many people present, though Harry only recognized a few. All the members of the Order of the Phoenix had shown up, the Weasley family of course and Cornelius Fudge. Harry was surprised to see his former squib neighbour, Mrs. Figg and shocked when he spied Umbridge. 

Rita Skeeter was no surprise and neither was the notebook in her hands, even if seeing it made his blood boil. Madame Maxime had come to the funeral as well. Even the merpeople looked on from the black lake and a herd of centaurs stood at the edge of the forbidden forest.

A little, tufty-haired man gave a long and boring speech, but Harry heard none of it. His thoughts were racing and he felt sick, knowing what he had to do and that he couldn't put it off much longer now. 

After the funeral he was cornered by the Minister of magic, who once again tried to gain information and even offered Harry some Aurors as protection. He looked angry when Harry declined, but the Gryffindor felt that he couldn't care less.

As the guests started leaving, he found himself standing at the side with Draco, Ron and Hermione. Soon the Hogwarts Express would take them home. And Harry knew that for him it would be the last time. He would not return. He'd made a decision. No-one else was going to die trying to protect him. 

“I can't bear the idea that we might never come back.” Hermione's voice shook him out of his musings. As if she'd read his mind.  
“Maybe Hogwarts won't close. We're not in any more danger here than we are at home, are we?” Ron reasoned.

And suddenly Harry knew that it was time. He would have to tell them now.  
“I'm not coming back, even if it does reopen.”

Ron gaped at him, while Hermione looked sad, but understanding. Draco only nodded, like he'd been expecting it all along.  
“Somehow I knew you were going to say that.” Hermione murmured. “What will you do?”

“I've got to track down the rest of the Horcruxes, haven't I? That's what Dumbledore wanted me to do. Why he told me about them. I've got to find them and destroy them. And then … I'm going to kill Voldemort. Once and for all.”

“You meant to say we are going to do all that.” Draco corrected.  
“No. I'm going to do this alone. It's my duty. My... destiny.” Harry insisted.  
“The fuck it is! Don't tell me you really believe in that stupid prophecy.”  
“I don't know. I don't know what to believe anymore. But I know that I have to do this. Alone.”

“No, you don't. I gave in the last time. I let you run off alone and look how that turned out.” the Slytherin pointed out.  
“You're not alone, Harry. We'll come with you as well.” Hermione chimed in. Ron nodded in agreement.

“I can't ask that of you.”  
“Well, you didn't ask, did you? It's our choice.” Ron said with a shrug.  
“But..”

“No buts you idiot Gryffindor! Will you listen to common sense at least this once?” Draco said harshly. “Strength in numbers. You can't do this alone. And you don't have to. This is our choice, like Ron said. And we chose to come with you, wherever you'll go.”

Harry felt tears pricking his eyes at their support. But he couldn't lead his friends into danger. He couldn't allow them to do this.

“I don't want you to get hurt.”  
“That's our risk to take, Harry.” Hermione pointed out. “You can't make that decision for us.”  
“We'll come with you.” Ron insisted again.

“But it'll be dangerous.” Harry argued.  
“We know that. But what isn't dangerous right now? You know that I'm already on his list, for turning my back on my father.” Draco reminded.  
“And I'm on his list for being a Muggleborn.” Hermione added.  
“My family are blood-traitors.” Ron piped up.

The dark-haired boy had the weird urge to laugh. He looked at Draco, who gave him a gentle smile.  
“You're not getting rid of us, Potter. Get used to it.”  
“Yep, we're going to save the world together.” the red-head decided and this time Harry did laugh.

“You're crazy, all of you.”  
“Probably.” Draco allowed. “Guess you really are rubbing off on me.”  
“Urgh, no-one wants to know what you guys do in your alone time.” Ron complained, making a face.  
“Again with the dirty mind, Weasley.”  
“I've got a dirty mind? You're the one who talked about rubbing off.”

Harry shook his head with a smile. His friends really were a bunch of idiots. But they were also right. Maybe things would have turned out different, if he and Dumbledore hadn't been alone that night. Maybe things would be different now. Strength in numbers, as Draco had said.

“Okay, we'll do this together.” he finally agreed.  
“Of course we will. We'll combine your outrageous luck with Hermione's intelligence, Ron's brute force and my common sense. What could go wrong?” the Slytherin asked rhetorically.

Hermione giggled and Ron complained that he had more to offer than only brute force. But Harry's eyes were drawn to Draco's. It was the look of absolute trust in those grey eyes that made him believe that everything would be alright in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think. Even if you hate it.


End file.
